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Moto News Wrap for May 14, 2019 by Darren Smart

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The LATEST News

• Cairoli & Prado dominate MXGP of Lombardia
• Kras & Guadagnini win 2-Stroke classes in Lombardia
• Roman wins WESS of Portugal
• Great Britain & Australia Bound for Speedway of Nations Final
• Robinson wins SoCal AFT Half Mile
• Euro Flat Track kicks off
• Sipes wins Hawaiian Supercross
• Ferris and Waters set for Hangtown
• Broc Tickle back in 2020
• Manjimup to welcome Clout and Gibbs
• X Trial Australian Championship returns for 2019
• Weekly update on our Aussies abroad

Cairoli & Prado dominate MXGP of Lombardia

Mantova in Italy hosted the 5th round of the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship last weekend with the MXGP of Lombardia being completely dominated by Antonio Cairoli and Jorge Prado in the MXGP and MX2 categories respectively.

MXGP Report

On a track that was full of sloppy mud it was smooth sailing for Cairoli who recorded the perfect weekend leading 42 laps over the weekend to take wins in the qualifying race on Saturday and both points scoring motos on Sunday for his fourth Matova GP win this time ahead if Pauls Jonass, Gautier Paulin, Clement Desalle, and Glen Coldenhoff.

Antonio Cairoli

“It is very nice to be again in Italy, despite the weather there were a lot of people today, so I am very thankful they keep coming and keep cheering. I am really happy of course, thanks to all the team for their hard work again and I am looking forward to next week in Portugal which is another track that I really like.”

Pauls Jonass

“It feels really good to be back here and especially with the MXGP guys. It has been a tough winter and a tough few months but it feels really great to be up here. We still need to keep working hard because I’m far off from my best shape but we will keep working and hopefully I can be back on the podium again soon.”

Gautier Paulin

“When the track is really rough like this you can gain a lot of points but you can also lose them. I am pretty happy, after the break we made a big step with the bike, I really feel good. Today wasn’t the result I expected but I am on the box so it is always a pleasure for my team and myself. There will be good GP’s coming and I can’t wait to get behind the gate again.”

MXGP of Mantova 2019 Results

MX2 Report

Prado took his fourth GP win over championship leader Thomas Kjer Olsen, Davey Pootjes and Aussie Mitch Evans but he win from Prado was not enough to take over the red plate from Olsen but the gap now drops from the previous 20 points to only 7.

Evans rode solid in the tough conditions for 8-6 moto results to now sit eighth in the championship points while Jed Beaton scored a sensational third in the opening moto and was running in sixth in the second moto until a crash put him back to an eventual 17th for seventh overall to now be 12th in the championship points.

Jorge Prado

“It is great to come back, get on the podium, and winning the GP was very important for me, especially for my confidence after a month off. Today it was important to get a good start, I failed at that yesterday but today I got really good starts which were key to the race. It is very tough to not make mistakes, get good starts every time, and don’t crash, I just need to keep concentration to lead.”

Thomas Kjer Olsen

“Overall it was a great weekend for me, in the first race I had that problem on the start where I was down for a bit, I was pretty far behind but I was able to make up some spots in the first laps and get into to a good position pretty quick I worked into the top ten and even got into 6th. So, after being down it was pretty good for me, I even stopped to change my goggles. Overall I felt like I was riding good this weekend.

Davy Pootjes

“It is really good and I am really happy because it has been tough. This podium should have happened maybe 4 years ago but because of crashes, injuries, and some bad luck it didn’t happen. Last winter, together with DIGA Procross, we made a plan, worked really hard, and it payed off. I feel this is the place where I should be and I am not done yet.”

MX2 of Mantova 2019 Results

Kras & Guadagnini Win 2-Stroke Classes in Lombardia

Europe’s Two-Stroke categories of EMX2T and EMX125 were on hand at Lombardia last weekend with two days of racing action won by Mike Kras (EMX2T) and Mattia Guadagnini (EMX125).

EMX125 Report

Guadagnini’s veteran like performance saw him take both race wins and as a result the overall ahead of Simon Laegenefelder (2-7) and Eddie Jay Wade (12-2) results. Guadagnini’s points lead is now 35 as the class takes one week off before returning alongside the MXGP of France at Saint Jean d’Angely.

EMX125 Results

EMX2T Report

Kras won the opening moto from the Pommie pairing of Todd Kellett and Brad Todd then in the second moto championship leader Brad Anderson took the win from Kras and Erik Williams so Anderson continues to lead the championship by 14 points over Kras.

EMX2T Results

Roman Wins WESS of Portugal

Spain’s Mario Roman has claimed victory over Wade Young and Manuel Lettenbichler at round one of the 2019 World Enduro Super Series – the Toyota Porto Extreme XL Lagares, in Portugal.

Following two days of action-packed Endurocross and City Prologue racing, the stage was set for Sunday’s Hard Enduro feature race with 300 competitors taking on the two laps of the demanding course.

Alfredo Gomez and Taddy Blazusiak led the field away but Lettenbichler soon moved into the lead and opened up a five-minute advantage over Young with Billy Bolt, Jonny Walker, Graham Jarvis and Roman all in tow.

Heading out for lap two, Lettenbichler was now six minutes clear and looking strong but Roman and Young had other ideas and impressively upped their pace in the deteriorating conditions and it wasn’t long Roman put his Sherco in front and, in charging all the way to the finish, claimed a memorable victory and the opening win of the WESS season. Young finished four minutes behind as runner-up.

Mario Roman

“I feel amazing, it’s so good to get the win, in 2016 I finished about a minute behind Alfredo and then two years in a row I had mechanical issues with my bike, but I always believed in myself and knew I could do it this year. On the first lap I was lying fifth or sixth and I couldn’t see the top two guys, but as the race went on, I started to feel stronger and was able to push 100% and pass the others one-by-one. The track was so much more difficult on the second lap and I knew I would be able to make up time on those tricky sections.”

Wade Young

“It feels great to get second today. At one point I was down in sixth and I was lacking some confidence after struggling in one of the rivers – that spent a lot of my energy. I came back strong though and towards the end people were starting to get tired and I was able to dig a little deeper and keep going.”

Jarvis initially looked to have snatched third from Lettenbichler on corrected time, but the German was awarded time he lost on lap one due to a track marking error and finished on the podium. With Jarvis content in fourth, Bolt completed the top five, while Walker rounded out the top six.

Manuel Lettenbichler

“I am so happy with my result and overall I had a really good race,  I didn’t realise at first the gap to the others was so big. I tried to stick to the same pace on the second lap, but Mario and Wade must have been flying. I think they probably pushed each other on the difficult stuff and were able to maintain a good speed when it got really tough. Graham also caught me at a few places, but I was able to stay ahead. I had to stop to move a bridge on the first lap so that cost me some time, but thankfully they have awarded that back to me and I have come away with third. It would have been nice to get the win, especially after leading for over half of the race. But whatever the result, I am happy with my riding and it’s been a good start to this year’s WESS championship.”

The World Enduro Super Series continues with round two, the Trèfle Lozérien AMV in France, next weekend, May 17-19.

Results – Round 1: Toyota Porto Extreme XL Lagares

1. Mario Roman (Sherco – ESP) 4:01:43.21
2. Wade Young (Sherco – RSA) 4:05:59.04 +4:15.83
3. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER) 4:07:09.68 +5:26.47
4. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GB) 4:07:16.12 +5:32.91
5. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB) 4:15:19.68 +13:36.47
6. Jonny Walker (KTM – GB) 4:29:26.58 +27:43.37
7. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP) 4:34:51.08 +33:07.87
8. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) 4:53:58.02 +52:14.81
9. Travis Teasdale (KTM – RSA) 5:01:43.91 +1:00:00.70
10. Jonathan Richardson (Husqvarna – GB) 5:11:22.83 +1:09:39.70

2019 World Enduro Super Series Standings (after round 1)

1. Mario Roman (Sherco – ESP) 1000 points
2. Wade Young (Sherco – RSA) 850 pts
3. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER) 770 pts
4. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GBR) 690 pts
5. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB) 610 pts
6. Jonny Walker (KTM – GB) 570 pts
7. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP) 530 pts
8. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) 490 pts
9. Travis Teasdale (KTM – RSA) 460 pts
10. Jonathan Richardson (Husqvarna – GB) 430 pts

Great Britain & Australia bound for Speedway of Nations Final

The Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations Race Off 2 was held in Manchester last Saturday night and it was England with 26 points who triumphed over Australia and Denmark so all three teams have secured their places at the Finals in Togliatti, Russia on July 20 and 21.

It was an impressive night for GB as triple world champion Tai Woffinden (12), Craig Cook (8) and Robert Lambert (6) all piled up the points while Australia booked the second automatic qualification berth after finishing level on 22 points with Denmark, but out-ranking their rivals after Chris Holder and Max Fricke finished second and third behind Danish rider Leon Madsen when the teams met in heat 18.

Holder scored two points from his opening two rides, but hit back with a win and two seconds.

Chris Holder

“It wasn’t too bad. It was a tough night and it’s a tough place here – everybody can be fast here. It’s a big, wide-open track. The bike setup is pretty much everything. My first couple were terrible, but once we got it working well, it got better. Me and Max had a couple of good races. The name of the game was just to get through in the top two. We didn’t want to be in the knock-out heats. We managed to sneak in, so we’re happy with that.”

Denmark were forced to beat France in the final knock-out heat to earn their spot in Russia on a night plagued by bad luck.

Niels-Kristian Iversen

“We did it the hard way, it was difficult. We did have some bad luck and it cost us some points. I believe we could have won the meeting if things had gone our way in a few races. But we qualified and that’s the main thing. We really wanted to avoid the knock-out race at the end because you never know what’s going to happen in these races. We felt confident we were going to do it, but it is a little bit nerve-wracking. We had to do it the hard way, but we are through.”

Great Britain, Australia and Denmark are joined in the Finals by hosts Russia as well as Race Off 1 winners Sweden, Poland and Germany.

The next World Championships action sees the FIM Speedway Grand Prix series launch with the Boll Warsaw SGP of Poland this Saturday.

Race-Off 2 Results

• GREAT BRITAIN 26
  • Tai Woffinden 12, Craig Cook 8, Robert Lambert 6.
• AUSTRALIA 22
  • Chris Holder 9, Max Fricke 12, Jaimon Lidsey 1.
• DENMARK 22
  • Niels-Kristian Iversen 15, Leon Madsen 5, Frederik Jakobsen 2.
• FRANCE 16
  • David Bellego 10, Dimitri Berge 6, Gaetan Stella 0.
• USA 16
  • Austin Novratil 1, Luke Becker 11, Broc Nicol 4.
• LATVIA 16
  • Andzejs Lebedevs 14, Jevgenijs Kostigovs 2, Olegs Mihailovs 0.
• FINLAND 8
  • Jesse Mustonen 0, Tero Aarnio 8, Timo Salonen 0.

Robinson Wins SoCal AFT Half Mile

American Flat Track ace Brandon Robinson put together a flawless performance to win last Saturday night’s Vance & Hines So-Cal Half-Mile at the Southern California Fairgrounds in Perris, Calif.

Robinson controlled the once stopped and restarted Main Event from race’s opening lap and by taking victory he became the first AFT Twins rider to claim more than one victory in 2019.

Brandon Robinson

“They all feel amazing. It’s great to be up here. Any time you’re on the box is good, but winning… this is what it’s all about. This is what we put in all the hard work for. My team busted their butts. My team owner, Jerry Kennedy, gives us everything we need to win. My crew chief, Brent Armbruster — the guy is amazing. We make a lot of decisions together, but there are some times he bails me out and gets the bike right. Man, he hit the nail on the head again tonight. This one is for my team.”

After holding off Sammy Halbert for the first part of the race Robinson took the win by nearly two seconds over championship leader Briar Bauman and Halbert who in turn got the nod over fellow Harley rider Jarod Vanderkooi and defending champion Jared Mees.

AFT Twins Main Event – So-Cal Half-Mile

1. Brandon Robinson Indian FTR750 0:21.040
2. Briar Bauman Indian FTR750 +1.833
3. Sammy Halbert Harley-Davidson XG750R +3.646
4. Jarod Vanderkooi Harley-Davidson XG750R +4.031
5. Jared Mees Indian FTR750 +4.280
6. Bronson Bauman Indian FTR750 +5.993
7. Brandon Price Indian FTR750 +9.720
8. Davis Fisher Indian FTR750 +10.050
9. Robert Pearson Indian FTR750 +10.622
10. Larry Pegram Indian FTR750 +12.028

AFT Twins Standings

1. Briar Bauman 102
2. Brandon Robinson 89
3. Jared Mees 78
4. Jarod Vanderkooi 66
5. Sammy Halbert 61
6. Henry Wiles 53
7. Jeffrey Carver Jr. 51
8. Larry Pegram 51
9. Bronson Bauman 50
10. Robert Pearson 45

AFT Singles Report

Ryan Wells backed up his first podium of the season at the Arizona Super TT with his first win of the year in a virtual wire-to-wire triumph at the So-Cal Half-Mile ahead of podium first timer Michael Inderbitzin and championship leader Dalton Gauthier

Ryan Wells

“TTs have never been my super strong suit so I knew getting a podium (at the Arizona Super TT), we had worked out the bugs that needed to be worked out. The Yamaha was awesome. It was huge for me to come in here and get the win. To lead all 15 laps… it was a long race for me mentally. It felt awesome to lead some laps and come out with the win. I can’t say enough about the whole Estenson racing family. That pit over there is literally a family. The camaraderie is awesome and I couldn’t get a win for a better group.”

AFT Singles Main Event – So-Cal Half-Mile

1. Ryan Wells Yamaha YZ450F 0:21.367
2. Michael Inderbitzin Honda CRF450R +0.406
3. Dalton Gauthier Husqvarna FC450 +1.315
4. Dan Bromley KTM 450 SX-F +2.085
5. Jesse Janisch +Yamaha YZ450F +2.332

AFT Singles Standings

1. Dalton Gauthier 96
2. Jesse Janisch 86
3. Dan Bromley 73
4. Mikey Rush 71
5. Ryan Wells 56

Euro Flat Track Kicks Off

The Indian Motorcycle European Flat Track series, presented by the Dirt Track Riders Association (DTRA), kicked off at the Hells Race, Lelystad Stadium on Sunday May 5. Dirttrack Lelystad in Holland hosted the first ever running during the amazingly popular annual Hells Race meeting.

Over 150 riders raced classes including Hooligan, Vintage, Pro, Amateur, Newbie and Minibike. The program was action packed with some fantastic racing around Holland’s premier short track venue.

The Hooligan class battle did not disappoint at Hells Race. Racing was fast and tough on the soft light shale surface. The big bikes were hard to handle on the tight and deep short track, and rain during the afternoon made the racing really tricky.

It was Gary Birtwistle who skilfully lead the final from beginning to end. After a poor start Max Hunt managed to race to a very well deserved second place. Leah Tokelove, who raced superbly in her heats on the Indian Scout took a well-earned third place on the podium, giving the UK first, second and third positions.

Hooligan Class

1. Gary Birtwistle – UK
2. Max Hunt – UK
3. Leah Tokelove – UK
4. Jonathan Falkman – Sweden
5. James Smith – UK

All three championship classes provided some amazing action and with riders from nine countries, the event had a truly international feel. The Pro Class was packed with Europe’s top dirt track riders, with a large showing from the UK, coupled with a strong field of other top riders from the Spain, Netherlands, Italy and Poland. The heats provided really tight racing. It was Ferran Sastre who was the only rider to win all his heats and took first pick for the Pro Final.

Sastre had some very strong competition from Maikel Dijkstra who was fresh from training with Moto Anatomy’s Johnny Lewis and was showing some excellent pace on his home track. Both Toby Hales (Greenfield Dirttrack) and Gerard Bailo (Greenfield Dirttrack) flew in from riding Copa Rodi in Spain the day before.

Franc Sala was also racing well and taking heat wins. In the Pro final it was Ferran Sastre who raced with superb skill to win, with Maikel Dijkstra taking a very close second and Sala third giving the Spanish riders a strong presence on the podium.

Pro Class

1. Ferran Sastre – Spain
2. Maikel Dijkstra – Netherlands
3. Franc Sala – Spain
4. Toby Hales – UK
5. Gerard Bailo – Spain

The vintage Class had a massive entry with some really close racing on some of Europe’s most beautiful vintage machines. German rider Martin Huning was on fire in all his heats and won the finaI. In second place was DTRA Race Director Anthony Brown who was very strong in all his heats. And in third place was Swiss rider Michel Colaizzi.

Vintage

1. Martin Huning – Germany
2. Anthony Brown – UK
3. Michel Colaizzi – Switzerland
4. Sean Kelly – UK
5. Christophe Canitrot – France

Krazy Horse’s Hooligan Team return to continue their UK DTRA flat track championship attack with the Indian Scout at MCN’s Festival of Motorcycling, Peterborough Arena, on May 18th and 19th – Join the event and experience the spectacle of Flat Track racing alongside live demo ride opportunities, see the entire Indian Motorcycle range on display and enjoy all the festival has to offer.

2019 Hooligan Championship Dates

• May 17/19 – MCN Festival, Peterborough Showground, UK
• June 15 – El Rollo, Wheels & Waves, ESP – European Championship
• August 9/10 – DIRTQUAKE, Arlington Stadium, Sussex, UK
• September 21/22 – Greenfield Oval, Alford, UK – European Championship

Sipes Wins Hawaiian Supercross

Aloha Stadium hosted the first Supercross event in Hawaii in several years and it was former ISDE winner and multi-talented Ryan Sipes who came away with a surprise win over multi-Australian Supercross Champion Justin Brayton and multi-Arenacross Champion Tyler Bowers.

The event used a three-moto format and Sipes dominated the overall standings with 1-1-1 moto finishes ahead of Brayton, who finished second overall with 3-2-2 moto scores while Tyler Bowers rounded out the podium with 4-5-4 moto results.

Hawaiian Supercross Results 2019 450SX

1. Ryan Sipes: 1-1-1
2. Justin Brayton: 3-2-2
3. Tyler Bowers: 4-5-4
4. Mike Alessi: 7-4-3
5. Austin Politelli: 2-3-12
6. Ben LaMay: 6-9-6
7. Josh Hill: 8-8-7
8. Alex Ray: 11-6-8
9. Jimmy Decotis: 5-13-11
10. Kyle Chisholm: 13-7-5

Broc Tickle Back in 2020

FIM have finally given their verdict on American racer Broc Tickle, who was suspended from the sport due to a report from the WADA accredited laboratory in Cologne indicating an adverse analytical finding of 5-methylhexan-2-amine, a specified substance under Section 6 (Stimulants) of the 2018 FIM Prohibited List, in a urine sample collected from him at the San Diego round of supercross.

Tickle had this to say on social media: “Finally got official sentencing from CDI panel and FIM, bummed I won’t be railing some corners this summer in Pro Motocross. I’ll be back 2/10/2020.”

Three Aussies Set for Hangtown

There will be three Aussies at the opening round of the AMA Motocross championship which will be held at Hangtown this weekend with Hunter Lawrence in the 250 class for Geico Honda being joined by Dean Ferris on the Factory Yamaha team and Todd Waters running a privateer Husqvarna.

Moto News reported last week that Waters flew straight to America after winning the 5^th round of the Australian MX Nationals at Murray Bridge with friends and family helping to contest the first three rounds of the series on a production FC450 Husqvarna.

Todd Waters

“With a seven-week break in the calendar, I’ve decided the best training I can do is to race, so I’ll head to the US this week with a small entourage of family and friends to line up as a privateer at the first three rounds of the AMA Outdoors.”

Ferris on the other hand got the call from Yamaha to fill in for the injured Aaron Plessinger with the Monster Energy Yamaha team alongside Justin Barcia.

Dean Ferris

“I’m super excited about this opportunity to race with the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team. I’ve won a lot of races on the YZ450F, so it’s a perfect fit for me to start my campaign in America. I’m looking forward to getting the outdoor season rolling in Hangtown next weekend!”

As for Lawrence, the former GP front runner was injured right before the supercross season and has spent the last 17 weeks getting ready for Hangtown to look for the young hard charger to be at the pointy end for the opening round and beyond.

Manjimup to Welcome Clout and Gibbs

CDR Monster Energy Yamaha Team members Kirk Gibbs and Luke Clout are set to make the trip across the Nullarbor to take on the best in the West at Australia’s most prestigious single motocross event, the Manjimup 15000 on the 1st and 2nd of June. Kirk Gibbs is a past champion of the event and longing to have his name added to the trophy one more time.

Kirk Gibbs

“I have done Manjimup a few times over the years and it is an event that every motocross racer should do. It’s an amazing track to ride that offers challenges in its layout, its terrain and its physical demands. The atmosphere at the venue is also nothing like we experience back on the East Coast. There is always a big crowd on hand that line the entire track and make plenty of noise as they watch the races. They are motocross people who know about the sport and are enthusiastic to cheer on their favourite rider. My shoulder should be good to go and I’m looking forward to heading back to Manjimup and catching up with all the WA fans.”

For Luke Clout, 2019 will mark his first appearance at the event and the has the current MX Nationals points leader exciting about the prospect of racing on the famous Manjimup circuit and experience the race for the first time.

Luke Clout

“I have heard so many good things about Manjimup and it’s awesome to know I will finally be taking the trip over to contest the event. Dacka has told me so many stories about his time racing Manjimup and I hope my time there is half as exciting as his. And I’m not sure if I can bare another story about riding a 500cc two stroke on a track rough enough to swallow an ocean-liner. I have seen the track on video and watched some races there and it looks like such a fun track to ride. The schedule looks hectic with six motos during the day but that’s fine with me and I can’t wait to get behind the gate and race Kirk as well as all the WA riders.”

X Trial Australian Championship returns for 2019

The 2019 X Trial Australian Championship contenders will compete in Perth and Wollongong in back-to-back weekends kicking off on WA on the 20th of July.

X Trial features the best eight riders that get an invitation to test themselves through 5 difficult sections each weekends which will offer spectators 3 hours of entertainment.

Eight riders start the qualifying round and four progress to the final, to be crowned the X Trial Australian Champion!

• Round 1
  • Perth – Saturday July 20th, HBF Stadium, Mount Claremont WA
  • Gates open at 6pm – Main Event 6:30pm Start
• Round 2
  • Wollongong – Saturday July 27th, WIN Ent Centre, Wollongong, NSW
  • Gates open at 6pm – Main Event 6:30pm Start

Weekly Up-Date on Our Aussies Abroad

Jed Beaton – Rockstar Husqvarna

Championship: World MX2 Motocross Championship
Current Standing: 12^th after Round 5 of 17
Notes: Jed was on fire at the MXGP of Lombardi in Italy last weekend with a third in the opening moto before crashing out of 6^th late in moto two in horrendously wet conditions to finish 17^th for 7^th overall – Jed has moved from 13^th to 12^th in the championship points.

Mitch Evans – 114 Honda

Championship: World MX2 Motocross Championship
Current Standing: 8^th after Round 5 of 17
Notes: Mitch had a solid weekend at the MXGP of Lombardi in Italy last weekend with a 3^rd in Saturday’s Qualifying race before going 8-6 on Sunday for 6^th outright to maintain his 8^th in the championship points – Evans was involved in a first corner crash in the opening moto so to claw his way back to 8^th in the conditions shows his talent.

Tayla Jones – Rockstar/Husqvarna/Moose Racing/Shaw Wines

Championship: GNCC
Current Standing: 1st after Round 5 of 13
Notes: Tayla won the latest round in Indianapolis on May 5 and has extended her points lead in the WXC class to 11 over second placed Becca Sheets.

Caleb Grothues – SDM Corse Yamaha

Championship: EMX250
Current Standings: 16^th after Round 2 of 8
Notes: The former Australian and World Junior Motocross Champion rode well at the opening round but was forced to sit out the second round due to injury but the West Aussie should be back for the next round in France on the 26^th of May.

Hunter Lawrence – Geico Honda

Championship: AMA Motocross Championship
Current Standings: TBA
Notes: Hunter was looking sharp heading into the supercross championship before he crashed right before the opening round so he is now healed and by all accounts 100% ready for the outdoors which kicks off at Hangtown on May 18.

Jett Lawrence – Geico Honda

Championship: TBA
Current Standings: TBA
Notes: Jett joined the Geico Honda amateur program for 2019 and to date he has raced a handful of events like the Mini-Os etc – as soon as he races and there are results it will be right here.

Tahlia ‘TJ’ O’Hare – KTM DIGA Racing Team

Championship: MXW World Motocross Championship
Current Standings: 13^th after Round 1 of 5
Notes: Tahlia’s initiation into the world motocross scene was at the toughest track on the circuit in Valkenswaard but she managed to get through with a solid 13^th but look for TJ to move up the points standings at the second round in Portugal on May 19.

Chad Reed – JGR Suzuki

Championship: AMA Supercross
Current Standing: 15^th after Round 17 of 17
Notes: Chad was part of a multi bike crash at Seattle when he was sitting 7^th in the championship and after the series was completed the Aussie still ended up 15^th in the points – we now hold out hopes that Chad will line up for the AMA Motocross Championships.

Wil Ruprecht – Johansson MPE Yamaha

Championship: EnduroGP – Junior Class
Current Standing: 2^nd after Round 2 of 7.
Notes: Wil once again proved his world class riding ability at Valpaços in Portugal last weekend with a 2^nd and a 4^th over the two days of competition where some of the veterans of the sport declared it one of the toughest events in recent history.

Meghan Rutledge – Bud Racing Kawasaki

Championship: MXW World Motocross Championship
Current Standings: 8^th after Round 1 of 5
Notes: Meghan sat out the World Championships for four years and her first round was marred with some minor mistakes but there was no mistaking her speed so look for Meghan to have a much better round in Portugal on the 19^th of May.

Josh Strang – Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki

Championship: GNCC / AMA Enduro
Current Standing: 6^th after Round 5 of 13
Notes: Josh ended the ‘X Factor Whitetails’ at Peru near Indianapolis in a disappointing 13^th outright but he still sits 6^th overall in the series with 8 rounds remaining.

Mackenzie Tricker – KTM/MEPMX/Fly Racing

Championship: GNCC
Current Standing: 3^rd after Round 5 of 13
Notes: Mackenzie ended the ‘X Factor Whitetails’ at Peru near Indianapolis in 9^th place which is her poorest performance in years but she still sits third in points with 8 rounds remaining and my bet is still for the former motocross champion to pull off a win this season.

Max Whale – Weirbach Racing Kawasaki

Championship: AFT Singles
Current Standings: 14^th after Round 5 of 18
Notes: Max narrowly missed out on going to the final at the SoCal Half Mile on the 11^th of May after scoring 12^th in his Semi final so he has dropped to 14^th in points but there are still 13 rounds to go.