Moto News Weekly Wrap
January 9, 2019 – By Darren Smart
Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
Latest News
- Todd and Crawford Sign for Serco
- GYTR YJR Announced 2018 Rider Line Up
- RV and Yamaha Enter into ‘Unique Agreement’
- Tomac Injured at A1
- Wilson Injured at A1
Race Reports
- 2018 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship – Round 2 – Germany
- AMA Supercross Championships – Round 1 – Anaheim
- Australian Speedway Senior Solo Championship – Round 1 – Kurri-Kurri on the 6th of January and the field
- UK Arenacross Tour – Round 1 – Manchester Arena, Manchester
- AMA Arenacross Championship – Round 1 – Dayton, Ohio
- Nankang Tyres/Mitch Chassis Sidecar Super Prix – Round 1 – Gillman Speedway
- 2018 Dakar Rally – Stages 1-2
Todd and Crawford Sign for Serco
Queenslanders Wilson Todd and Nathan Crawford will be teammates at Serco Yamaha throughout the 2018 Australian motocross and supercross season.
Wilson Todd finished second in both the MX Nationals and Australian Supercross Championships in 2017 and is wrapped to have secured another year with the Serco team.
Wilson Todd
“I have a really good feeling about returning to Serco Yamaha for 2018. I have had such a long and successful relationship with Yamaha over the past 10 years and I wanted that to continue and then in discussions with Serco, they were able to provide me with what I believe it takes for me to win, so we got the contract done and I will be ready to go with the season rolls around. I will learn from what I did wrong last year as well as develop what I did right to be a better racer in 2018 as no rider can afford to sit on their hands. Each year there are a heap of guys that can win races in MX2 and I still believe that I have a long way to go before I have reached my potential in racing so I’m working hard to make 2018 my best season yet.”
After a sensational rookie season in the MX1 class, Brisbane based Nathan Crawford has elected to race the MX2 class in 2018.
Nathan Crawford
“When looking at my options for this year, the previous team I was on shut down and the remaining good rides in the MX1 class were already taken so I looked at what was available in MX2. Living in Brisbane, I have had a good relationship with Serco in the past and in speaking with Gavin Eales, he was interested in putting something together for me. We were able to make that happen and I’m excited to be back on Yamaha and with the Serco Yamaha team. Having the team nearby makes life much easier and I can’t wait to get the season started. I feel I have unfinished business in the MX2 class so I’m pretty determined to take care of that. We have a good group of people on board at Serco this year and it will be great to have Wilson as my team mate again.”
Gavin Eales – Serco
“Having both Wilson and Nathan with us for 2018 is an exciting prospect but one that will be rewarding. Both riders demand a lot of themselves and those around them and we have made significant changes in 2018 to ensure we give these two riders exactly what they need for success. One thing I don’t need to worry about is the work ethic and dedication of both these two guys. They are the hardest working riders in Australia and put in huge hours on and off the bike. I know these two riders will turn up prepared and ready to compete for national championships and that’s all any team manager can ask. I’m looking forward to 2018 and know that it will be a great year with Wilson, Nathan and all our team and sponsors at Serco Yamaha.”
With both riders Queensland based, they will enjoy a couple of pre-season hit outs in regional races before tackling round one of the MX Nationals in Victoria in April.
GYTR YJR Announced 2018 Rider Line Up
The GYTR Yamaha Junior Racing (YJR) team in 2018 will have 14 riders over six states is what is set to become a landmark year for the program which is now in its second decade of developing emerging off road and motocross racing talent.
As already released, the expansion into Tasmania now sees GYTR YJR covering all states apart from the Northern Territory and takes the riders support up to 14 riders.
Each of the team managers has years’ worth of racing experience and continually pass on that knowledge during the week at the practice and training track as well as in a race environment on the weekends, a system that no other manufacturer can match.
Ray Howard – Yamaha Motorsport Manager
“Yamaha Junior Racing has been successful innovation for Yamaha Australia that allows us to work closely with hard working riders and families as well as show case the exciting range of Yamaha racing machinery in that segment. 14 riders is a huge undertaking but Yamaha are proud to lead the industry in such important area- junior sport and youth development. Juniors are the future in any sport Yamaha Motor Australia continue to invest heavily in it. We couldn’t do it without the on-going support of our sister companies and brands like Yamaha Motor Insurance, Yamaha Motor Finance, GYTR, Yamalube as well as Ficeda Accessories who through enormous support behind the YJR project. We look forward to a sensational 2018 season with a talented group of riders and a dedicated team of managers to oversee them.”
GYTR YJR 2018 Rider Line-Up
- NSW – Manager – Darren Thompson
- Bayley Clancy
- Ryder Kingsford
- Kayd Kingsford
- VIC – Manager – Cameron Taylor
- Liam Andrews
- Ty Sharp
- QLD – Manager – Scott Bishop
- Levi Rogers
- Jake Cannon
- SA – Manager – Shane Metcalfe
- Alex Larwood
- Wil Carpenter
- WA – Manager – Peter Strickland
- Cody Chittick
- Jake Turner
- Kaj Radcliffe
- TAS – Manager – Brody Jennings
- Lochie Smith
- Angus Pearce
- NSW – Manager – Darren Thompson
RV and Yamaha Enter into ‘Unique Agreement’
In a surprise announcement, Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (YMUS), has entered into a unique marketing partnership with four-time AMA Supercross Champion and three-time AMA Motocross Champion Ryan Villopoto.
The announcement was made by Mike Doughty, General Manager of Motorcycle Operations for Yamaha’s Motorsports Group. “Yamaha is an iconic brand in the motorsports industry, and Ryan Villopoto is a supercross and motocross racing legend. Beginning today and continuing throughout 2018, YMUS and Ryan will collaborate on numerous motorsports activities, with the purpose of promoting all aspects of motorcycling and motorsports throughout the U.S.”
Ryan Villopoto
“With my transition to life after racing, I’m still passionate about motorsports. Whether I’m racing, riding recreationally or teaching my kids to ride, I still have a lot I want to give back to the motorsports industry from many aspects. My family and I enjoy all sorts of motorsports activities, and Yamaha has the broadest and most diverse lineup around. Whether it’s off-road, on-road, two wheels or four, they have it covered. That’s why I’m so excited to enter into this collaboration with Yamaha.”
Stay tuned for more details to come about this unique, new marketing partnership, unique because RV achieved much of his success on Kawasaki machinery.
Tomac Injured at A1
According to team Kawasaki, Eli Tomac suffered a shoulder contusion (a bruise) at the opening round of Monster Energy Supercross where he crashed out of the lead in the main event.
Tomac stormed into the early lead and slowly began to distance himself from the field but before the half way mark Eli took a nose dive on his KX450F where he lost a few positions and then stopped on the track completely to fix his broken pants, which were nearly falling down.
After rolling around the track for a few laps, he eventually pulled off and went to the pits, his race was over and the extent of the injury will come to light in the coming days.
Wilson Injured at A1
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Dean Wilson announced on Instagram that he will get his shoulder checked out after exiting the opening round of Monster Energy Supercross on Saturday due to a crash in his heat race.
Dean Wilson
“Such a disappointment to end my night, I seen an opening for a pass and I went for it. I was wheeling that section all day and I just got too antsy trying to pass. I will get my shoulder checked Monday and will know further details. I feel like I let my sponsors/fans, friends and family down. I will give you an update once I know hopefully I will be ok.”
There will be an update on Wilson’s status for round two in Houston later this week.
Smarty’s Race Reports
2018 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship
Round 2 – Germany
FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Cody Webb delivered the goods at round two of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in Riesa, Germany to claim the overall win ahead of Colton Haaker and Taddy Blazusiak.
Starting race one in third place, the American quickly worked his way around leaders Colton Haaker and Jonny Walker to claim the opening win of the night then with the start order reversed for race two always proving decisive, Webb cut his way through the field to place a hard-earned third before oing on to win the third and final race of the night, Cody ended round two on the top step of the podium and with it the took over the championship’s points lead.
Cody Webb
“It’s great to end the night with both the overall win and the championship points lead. I almost had it in Poland so to get it done here in Germany is brilliant. Overall, it was a pretty good night. I won SuperPole and that gave me an added boost of confidence. Like Poland I won the first and final race, only this time I had a much-improved result in race two. I feel like I still have a bit more work to do there, which is something I can build on towards round three in Bilbao, Spain.”
The FIM SuperEnduro World Championship continues with round three in Malaga, Spain on February 17th.
See the full report here: Cody Webb takes German SuperEnduro Round victory (link)
Results – 2018 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship, Round 2
Prestige Class Overall
- Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 58 pts (1-3-1)
- Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 45 pts (2-1-7)
- Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 43 pts (4-6-2)
- Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 39 pts (5-4-3)
- Jonny Walker (GBR), KTM, 37 pts (3-7-4)
Provisional Standing After Round 2
- Cody WEBB 106pts
- Taddy BLAZUSIAK 93pts
- Billy BOLT 83pts
- Colton HAAKER 80pts
- Alfredo GOMEZ 74pts
- Manuel LETTENBICHLER 70pts
- Jonny WALKER 52pts
- Danny MCCANNEY 46pts
- Cristobal GUERRERO 32pts
- Alex SALVINI 30pts
AMA Supercross Championships – Round 1 – Anaheim
In front of a sold out Anaheim Stadium, Marvin Musquin and Shane McElrath have won the 450 and 250 class main events respectively at the opening round of the AMA Supercross Championships held at Anaheim last weekend.
450 Class
There are a heap of stories that came out of A1 but nothing is surer that Marvin Musquin is ‘the man’ for 2018 and the Frenchman looked sharp in the final despite a so-so qualifying session and lacklustre heat race.
Marvin Musquin
“To win tonight definitely was not expected. It was a difficult day but I tried to stay calm and we were able to make it happen. I had a bad start in the Main Event but we put everything together and we were consistent, it was a long Main – but this is what we’ve been working so hard for. I can’t thank everyone enough for their support!”
Eli Tomac got to the lead early and was opening up a small gap over second placed Justin Barcia when he hit the deck on lap seven handing the lead Barcia who was having his best night for many years on the factory Yamaha.
Barcia led for several laps but Musquin was simply too fast so by lap 12 Marvin was in the lead then a few laps later Anderson moved into second place after a couple of aggressive laps battling with Barcia.
Jason Anderson
“This was a rather smooth day, I was able to get a good start in the heat race and then got the win there. Then I was able to make some good moves in the main and work my way up to second. I think it was a good opening round and it puts me in a good position for the rest of the season.”
Barcia’s return to the podium is a welcome return for one of the higher profile riders in the series.
Justin Barcia
“Life is tough, I was in the lowest of lows and the highest of highs and then something would happen. That was tough for sure and coming into A1 without a contract was frustrating and like I said I built my confidence back up and when I got the call from Yamaha it was exciting, but also I was nervous, but the team did a good job and we had a month and a half to get comfortable and get the speed back up. For sure, it’s been tough times and such tough times that I wondered if I wanted to race anymore. I went to England with my fiancé and a buddy asked if I wanted to race the Monster Energy Cup. We did pretty good and didn’t put any pressure on myself and lucky the Yamaha deal came up. Yamaha has enough money to run three guys, I can tell you that much.”
So what about Ken Roczen’s race? Well, Kenny started the final with a poor start and his race craft was not as sharp as it once was but when you look at the overall stats he started the second lap 12 seconds back from the leader and ended the race 10 seconds back so for all accounts Roczen was running the lead riders pace – time will tell.
Ken Roczen
“Earlier, I said if I win, get third, or fifth, it doesn’t matter and I’ll be happy, but when I came off the track, it did matter to me. I really wanted to win. I was bummed because halfway through, I had the speed and was catching those guys, but I made a mistake where I scrubbed and dragged my boot on the ground and almost crashed. I was riding a little tight and tried to shake it off, but towards the end I tried to just keep it smart. I didn’t want to do anything stupid because there’s a lot of racing left. The more I think about it, fourth place isn’t too bad. We could’ve had a way worse night, and I really think without that mistake I would’ve been on the podium. There were some nerves on the line just due to lack of experience starting with 20 riders. I kind of messed up both times and just dumped the clutch, so I was pretty far back in the main event, which was a little sketchy. I think if I had gotten a better start, my night would’ve been even better. I’m happy to be here and excited to keep racing.”
Broc Tickle passed the most amount of riders in the main event with the factory KTM rider starting the main event in almost dead last before coming through to 8th place.
Broc Tickle
“Overall, I’m pretty happy with the way things went at A1. I started 19th in the Main Event and finished 8th so overall, I’m happy. It was nice to work with the team to get things a little more comfortable per the track conditions and I’m happy with gaining more confidence there. Obviously, this is the first full race for me with the team so I’m really stoked with where I’m at and looking forward to making progress each and every weekend from here.”
Eli Tomac
“We started the day off great. I felt really strong on the bike all day and I had a good heat race, which put us in a great spot for the main event. The main didn’t end how we wanted it to, but this is only one race in a long season.”
Chad Reed was dead last on the opening lap before working his way up to 15th and despite being lapped the former champ is still in the very early days of recovering from surgery and he will get stronger and faster as the series progresses.
Chad Reed – On social media
“All things considered I’m stoked! Literally off the couch to top 15 in the world – I’ll take that – Prioritizing this week – As an athlete you always want it all – I’m the most under prepared I’ve ever been but my foot is all that matters right now – I’m staying in Cali and hitting it hard on therapy as I need to get my full range of motion so I can be in a little less pain – Then I’ll work on bike and fitness – That 20min +1 though – EVERYTHING hurts today and I can’t wait to feel it again next weekend.”
Chad’s wife Ellie posted this on social media: ‘Today is the most riding he did all off season. 10 weeks ago surgery! He only got a bike together at Christmas! So freakin’ proud to be married to you! No excuses made – you showed up zero prep smiled and excited to be part of supercross’
450SX Main Event Results
- Marvin Musquin Marvin Musquin – 24 Laps
- Jason Anderson – +02.579
- Justin Barcia – +04.629
- Ken Roczen – +12.826
- Weston Peick – +15.694
- Cole Seely – +18.772
- Justin Brayton – +26.580
- Broc Tickle – +27.668
- Josh Grant – +29.491
- Cooper Webb – +30.494
- Jeremy Martin – +31.199
- Blake Baggett – +33.129
- Vince Friese – +55.230
- Tyler Bowers Tyler Bowers – 23 Laps +
- Chad Reed
- Kyle Cunningham
- Ben LaMay
- Alex Ray Alex Ray
- Matt Bisceglia
- Dakota Tedder
- Adam Enticknap
- Eli Tomac – DNF
450SX Rider Point Standings
- Marvin Musquin – 26 points
- Jason Anderson – 23 points
- Justin Barcia – 21 points
- Ken Roczen – 19 points
- Weston Peick – 18 points
- Cole Seely – 17 points
- Justin Brayton – 16 points
- Broc Tickle – 15 points
- Josh Grant – 14 points
- Cooper Webb – 13 points
250SX Class
Shane McElrath won A1 in 2017 and it wasn’t expected but in 2018 there was pressure on the KTM rider and he didn’t disappoint with a convincing win over a quality field.
Shane McElrath
“Coming into A1 we didn’t know where we were. I was going through the motions in winter and I just wanted to race. We’ve worked really hard this off-season and we got everything out of it we could. It’s early in the season and I know everybody likes to be at A1 but this one feels good. The track was really demanding, the whoops were gnarly and it was good to get good stats tonight and put in a solid race. This is a big year and the west coast has a lot of competition. You will hear it more times tonight, but I have never felt so many nerves. I am looking forward to this season. I look forward to keep growing. I mean, this year has been a good off-season and I feel confident on the bike and aggressive. Last year I was half way through and trying to go, but I couldn’t.”
Aaron Plessinger made his way up to second place after a so-so start and was being pressured by Adam Cianciarulo right to the end of the race but the Yamaha held on for a solid second.
Aaron Plessinger
“I felt him (AC), he was there hounding me down. I kept my head down and ended up second. I realized Adam was behind me and just wanted to be consistent. I kept looking forward and it worked out. Racing the west coast happened when Colt Nicolls got injured, I was meant to race the East Coast. I was wheeling off the metal gate until three days before A1.”
Cianciarulo needed a top three ride to get his season started and that is exactly what he did but don’t expect the Kawasaki pilot to settle for third too many more times.
Adam Cianciarulo
“Today was great. I felt the best I ever have coming into today’s race. To leave here on the box feels good. I’ve been working hard on my strength and stamina and I know I’ve got what it takes to win. Let’s keep it rolling into Houston. I was so nervous in my heat race and even in the main event. The energy in supercross seems bigger. I love Anaheim, the track was good too. Overall a good experience.”
After finishing fifth in his heat Hayden Mellross got a shocking start in the main event but kept his composure to make the most of the bad situation to work his way to 13th place – Hayden will get into the top ten and maybe even the top five during this championship.
250SX West Main Event Results
- Shane Mcelrath – 18 Laps
- Aaron Plessinger – +02.521
- Adam Cianciarulo – +04.609
- Joey Savatgy – +08.508
- Christian Craig – +16.061
- Mitchell Oldenburg – +22.859
- Justin Hill – +23.074
- Chase Sexton – +26.742
- Justin Cooper – +39.892
- Kyle Chisholm – +44.300
- Bradley Taft – +48.803
- Dakota Alix – +50.604
- Hayden Mellross – +51.310
- Mitchell Harrison – 19 Laps +
- Justin Hoeft
- Justin Starling
- Ryan Breece
- Killian Auberson
- Jean Ramos
- Brandan Leith
- Alex Martin
- Phil Nicoletti – DNS
250SX West Rider Point Standings
- Shane McElrath – 26 points
- Aaron Plessinger – 23 points
- Adam Cianciarulo – 21 points
- Joey Savatgy – 19 points
- Christian Craig – 18 points
- Mitchell Oldenburg – 17 points
- Justin Hill – 16 points
- Chase Sexton – 15 points
- Justin Cooper – 14 points
- Kyle Chisholm – 13 points
UK Arenacross Tour – Round 1 – Manchester Arena, Manchester
Manchester Arena hosted the opening round of the 2018 Power Maxed Arenacross Tour and it was little known Charles Le Francois on a Buildbase Honda who won the main event from the experienced pairing of Cyrille Coulon and Thomas Ramette while Dan Reardon managed to land a spot in the final and 10th place
The Pro Lites class saw Joe Clayton (Team Green Holeshot Kawasaki), Jason Meara (JK IFly Yamaha) and Chris Bayliss (Wooldridge Demolition) land on the podium and take the major points.
The second leg of the 2018 Arenacross Tour now heads to the north-east to the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, next Saturday the 13th of January.
Pro Main Event
- Charles Le Francois – Buildbase Honda – 20pts
- Cyrille Coulon – SR75 World Team Suzuki -18pts
- Thomas Ramette – SR75 World Team Suzuki – 16pts
- Cedric Soubeyras – Team FRO Systems Suzuki – 15pts
- Fabien Izoird – Buildbase Honda – 14pts
- Adrien Escoffier – MVR-D St Blazey Husqvarna – 13pts
- Jack Brunnell – Team Green Holeshot Kawasaki – 12pts
- Hugo Basaula – Shocktech Kawasaki – 11pts
- Adam Chatfield – Team Green Holeshot Kawasaki – 10pts
- Dan Reardon – JK I-Fly Yamaha Racing – 9pts
- Elliott Banks Browne – Geartech Husqvarna – 8pts
- Ashley Greedy – Team FRO Systems Honda – 7pts
Pro Lites
- Joe Clayton, 40 points
- Jason Meara, 34
- Chris Bayliss, 34
- Scooter Webster, 30
- Lewis Dowdeswell, 26
- Oliver Benton, 24
Supermini
- Carl Osterman, 20 points
- Buster Hart, 18
- Raife Broadley, 16
- Robert Storer, 15
- Kai Tucker, 14
Youth 65cc
- Harvey Antrobus, 20 points
- Shaun Mahoney, 18
- Jake Davies, 16
- Zane Stephens, 15
- Kyron Carron, 14
AMA Arenacross Championship – Round 1 – Dayton, Ohio
Defending champion Gavin Faith won the opening round of the 2018 AMSOIL Arenacross Championship ahead of Travis Sewell and Jacob Hayes at the Wright State University Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio.
In the first Main Event, Chris Blose took the holeshot over Jace Owen and Faith but the defending champion made quick work of getting around Owen by the second lap and continued charging toward Blose. The two went toe-to-toe until Faith made the pass over Blose with Jacob Hayes in third.
In the second Main Event, Faith grabbed the holeshot with Blose in second and Travis Sewell in third. Sewell worked around Blose while Hayes charged into third. Faith went on to lead all 15 laps for his second Main Event victory and first overall of the season ahead of Sewell in second and Hayes in third.
Gavin Faith
“I had the first round jitters for sure, I felt like I was the fastest guy out there once the gate dropped so I’m leaving Round 1 stoked.”
Amsoil Arenacross 250AX Class Main Event Results
- Gavin Faith, Duncombe, Iowa (1-1)
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind. (4-2)
- Jacob Hayes, Greensboro, N.C. (3-3)
- Jace Owen, Mattoon, Ill. (5-4)
- Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz. (2-9)
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif. (6-5)
- Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio (7-6)
- Cody Van Buskirk, Harvard, Ill. (9-8)
- Lane Staley, Chillicothe, Ohio (14-7)
- Kyle Bitterman, West Pelzer, S.C. (8-14)
AX Lites East Class
In the AX Lites East Class, Garrett Marchbanks started off his Road to Supercross journey by taking the holeshot in the Main Event ahead of Jerry Robin and Heath Harrison but on the second lap, Marchbanks left the door open and Harrison quickly took the lead with Robin in tow.
The battle between Harrison and Robin continued until lap 12 of 15 when Harrison and Robin made contact, which forced a mistake by Robin and allowed Harrison to take over the lead while Marchbanks continued charging ahead.
On the last lap, Harrison’s costly mistake handed Marchbanks the win and first Main Event victory ahead of Harrison in second and Isaac Teasdale in third.
Amsoil Arenacross Ax Lites East Class Main Event Results
- Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah
- Heath Harrison, Silverhill, Ala.
- Isaac Teasdale, Robbinsville, N.C.
- Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga.
- Kyle Bitterman, West Pelzer, S.C.
- Richard Jackson, Holdenville, Okla.
- Jordan Bailey, Orlando, Fla.
- Josh Mosiman, Menifee, Calif.
- Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ken.
- Jeremy Hand, Mantua, Ohio
Australian Speedway Senior Solo Championship
Round 1 – Kurri-Kurri
Rohan Tungate has used his race craft and experience to win the final over Josh Pickering and Max Fricke at the opening round of the Australian Speedway Senior Solo Championship held at Kurri Kurri last weekend.
Tungate scored 14 points during the heat races thanks to four race wins and a second place before storming to the win in the final to score another four points to walk away with a healthy 18 points as the championship heads to round two at Undera Speedway on the 10th of January.
Former World Speedway Junior Solo Champion Max Fricke won three heats backed with two second places but a poor start in the final saw the Victorian having to settle for third place behind Tungate and Pickering.
Max Fricke
“First round of the Australian championship done. Came away 2nd in points and 3rd on the night. Stoked to be back racing and getting more comfortable with every lap. Onto Undera Wednesday night”
Edinburgh racer Josh Pickering made a real statement of his intent with second place in the A Final to go third in the overall standings on 14 after he scored 11 points in the heats, before winning the B Final ahead of Torun and Somerset star Jack Holder, Jaimon Lidsey and Mason Campton.
Points Per Ride and Totals
- Rohan Tungate – 3, 2, 3, 3, 3 + 4 = 18
- Max Fricke – 2, 3, 2, 3, 3 + 2 = 15
- Josh Pickering – 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 + 3 = 14
- Brady Kurtz – 3, 3, DNF, 3, 3 + 0 = 12
- Jaimon Lidsey – 3, 3, 2, 2, 1 = 11
- Mason Campton – 3, 1, 3, 1, 2 = 10
- Jack Holder……..X,2,3,3,1 = 9
- Sam Masters – 2, 2, DNF, 1, 2 = 7
- Jordan Stewart – 1, 1, 1, 2, 2 = 7
- Matthew Gilmore – DNF, 1, 3, 1, 1 = 6
- Robert Medson – 0, 0, 2, 1, 2 = 5
- Jye Etheridge – 1, 2, X, 2, 0 = 5
- Joel Coyne – 2, 1, 1, DNF, DNF = 4
- Cooper Riordan – 1, 0, 1, 0, 1 = 3
- Declan Knowles – 0, 0, 2, 0, 0 = 2
- James Davies – 1, X, 0, 0, 0 = 1
Nankang Tyres/Mitch Chassis Sidecar Super Prix
Round 1 – Gillman Speedway
Gillman Speedway hosted the first of the four round Nankang Tyres/Mitch Chassis Sidecar Super Prix last weekend and it was multi-Australian Champion Darrin Treloar and his passenger Jesse Headland who not only won the all-important final but took away 19 championship points heading into the second round.
It took 12 qualifying heats to nut out the final 16 sidecars who then fought through 20 heats, a semi-final and the final where Trent Headland and Darryl Whetstone earned second place ahead of Mark Plaisted/Ben Pitt and Warren Monson/Andrew Summerhayes.
Treloar and Headland will take a four point lead into the second round of the world’s most lucrative series on January the 21st at the Gillman Speedway.
Sidecar Super Prix – Round 1 – Gillman Speedway Results
- Darrin Treloar/Jesse Headland – 19
- Mark Plaisted/Ben Pitt – 15
- Trent Headland/Darryl Whetstone – 15
- Warren Monson/Andrew Summerhayes – 10
- Damian Niesche/Mitchell Spear – 10
- Andrew Buchanan/Denny Cox – 9
- Neale Hancock/Brock Gates – 9
- Mick Headland/Brenton Kerr – 9
- Mark Mitchell/Dale Knights – 8
- Dave Bottrell/Chris Bottrell – 8
- Kym Menadue/Eric Melton – 5
- Jamie Moohan/Bayley Ogilvie – 4
- Shane Rudloff/Scott Morris – 3
- Byren Gates/Michael O’Loughlin – 2
- Tim Bichard/Derick Thomas – 2
- Dean Hobbs/Justin Richards – 2
2018 Dakar Rally
Overnight Joan Barreda made some major navigation errors which saw him lose his lead and Sam Sunderland has moved into the overall lead after stage three.
Toby Price had a great run before a fall, but recovered to finish the stage in third, only for a five-minute penalty to be applied. There is talk that the penalty may have now been removed, but we are awaiting confirmation, more on Dakar 2018 here…
