Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
Latest News
Roczen Going Back Under the Knife
Kearney Replaces Twyerould as KTM Motorsport Manager
Davi Millsaps Announces Immediate Retirement
Barcia signs with Yamaha for Remainder of 2018 Season
Speedway of Nations Launched
Hook Awarded Memorial Trophy
Koppe Makes History at Burt Munro Challenge
Gardiner & Carpentier Sign with Yamaha MX Store Ballard’s Off-Road Team
Yamaha Motor Europe Announces 2018 Motocross Line-up
Russia Reign Supreme On the Ice
RIP Ulf Karlson
Race Reports
AMA Supercross Championships – Round 6 – San Diego
UK Arenacross – Round 6 – Sheffield
Amsoil Arenacross – Round 5 – Mohegan Sun Arena in Madison, Wisconsin
Italian Motocross Championship – Round 2 – Sicily
2018 Hell’s Gate – Italy
Hawkstone Park International Motocross – Hawkstone Park, Great Britain
Roczen Going Back Under the Knife
Ken Roczen has again been confronted with more surgery after his right arm slipped between the wheel and swingarm of Cooper Webb’s Yamaha as the two riders battled for position during round 6 of the AMA Supercross Championship in San Diego last weekend.
kenroczen94 “Just want to forget about this weekend. Surgery on Friday on my hand. Will give an update as soon as i get a ct scan. Dunlop tyres hook up great! Might be able to be back pretty quick. Will know more soon.”
After the crash Roczen was taken from the track with his jersey ripped from his body as he held on to his right arm and according to the team the Honda rider will undergo surgery on his right hand in the coming days – a timeline on Roczen’s return to racing will be determined when the surgery is complete.
Kearney Replaces Twyerould as KTM Motorsport Manager
Current KTM Enduro Racing Team Manager Glenn Kearney has been appointed Motorsports Manager of the KTM Group Australia, in an expanded role that will utilise the vast experience of the highly-respected former off-road racer.
Kearney will maintain his team management duties as the KTM Enduro Racing Team defends its Australian Off-Road Championship crown in 2018, as well as managing the KTM Desert Racing Team, while also taking on the broader Motorsports Manager position.
The role of – KTM Group Australia – Motorsports Manager for Kearney comes as Rob Twyerould focuses on customer services, resulting in Kearney having a direct involvement with the KTM Motocross Racing Team, along with added input into the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team. He will also be heavily involved in both brands’ assortment of officially-supported racers and teams locally.
Kearney is recognised as one of the sport’s most revered professionals following a racing career that spanned over a decade, winning off-road championships locally and also competing internationally. Between 2014 and 2016 he was Team Manager/Rider of the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team with immense success, prior to solely becoming Team Manager of KTM’s off-road and desert programs last year.
The appointment of Kearney as KTM Group Australia Motorsports Manager will see him work closely with current KTM Motocross Racing Team Manager Jay Marmont and Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team Manager Christian Horwood in a bid to capture championships across each discipline through 2018.
Jeff Leisk
Jeff Leisk – General Manager, KTM Group Australia
“We are proud to announce the appointment of Glenn Kearney as the KTM Group Australia Motorsports Manager. Since joining our organization, Glenn has demonstrated his vast experience of overseas competition, along with his tremendous ability to organise and lead our racing teams to victory.”
Glenn Kearney
Glenn Kearney – Motorsports Manager, KTM Group Australia
“I’m really excited to have this opportunity with the KTM Group. It’s definitely going to be a challenge in filling the shoes of Rob Twyerould in this particular position, as he has done an amazing job for many years and has won countless championships in that time. My main goal is to try and keep that rolling, looking to achieve as much success as we can. The role as Motorsport Manager covers both KTM and Husqvarna, which are two brands I have worked within as off-road Team Manager in recent years, based alongside the KTM Motocross Team here in Sydney. We are all very familiar with each-other and we have three great teams in-house, so the target is to maintain that high-performance culture we have with our employees and also our riders under contract. The plan, as always, is to strive for improvements in all facets of the motorsports department.”
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Davi Millsaps Announces Immediate Retirement
30-year-old Supercross and Motocross rider Davi Millsaps has announced his immediate retirement via an open letter.
Davi Millsaps retires
Davi Millsaps
“After 14 years as a professional Supercross and motocross racer, today, I announce my retirement from racing. Obviously, this was not an easy decision for me to make. Before the crash that I sustained back in October, I felt great while on the bike, and I was looking forward to an awesome 2018 season with my team, Monster Energy/Knich/Yamaha Factory Racing. Everything was falling perfectly into place: my training, my fitness, and the bike. I had high expectations for the 2018 Supercross season. Then, the unexpected happened and life changed so fast. I was sent to the ICU with a major concussion, bleeding in and around my brain, and a shattered elbow, along with being bruised and banged up pretty much all over. After months of recovery and consulting with my neurologist and family, we came to the difficult decision that it was time for me to retire from racing.
“I say this with great sadness, and this is definitely not how I wanted to end my career. But health is a priority. When the doctor told me that he couldn’t release me due to the risk that another impact on my head could be life-altering, not to mention life-threatening, it was pretty tough news for me to swallow. The reality of retirement was very hard to face. It brings out a bag of so many mixed emotions. It saddens me greatly to have to go out like this. I have given so much of my life to this sport. I basically grew up on a track chasing my dream.
“From the time I first rode a bike at the age of 3 till now, at almost age 30, I’ve had a blast. In return, this sport gave me an opportunity to be the best and work with the best. My racing career has brought me so many amazing opportunities, many great races competing against the sport’s finest athletes, amazing fans, and many lifelong friends. My wife, Brittney and I were fortunate to have been able to share my career with our two kids, Dane and Bryn. I cannot begin to express my sincere gratitude to so many individuals and sponsors who have stood by me throughout my entire career. I thank you, and I am very appreciative for all you have done for my family and me.
“Supercross and Motocross fans are the best fans in the world. I thank you so much for being there for me and for all you have given me through your encouragement and love. Looking back at my wins and losses, long list of injuries, surgeries, and all of the highs and lows I’ve experienced, I wouldn’t change a thing.
“I’m not going to lie, I will miss it. This sport has been so good to me, and I’m fortunate that I can walk away looking forward to the future with my family. I’ve been so lucky to have had this experience as a pro athlete, and I will cherish each and every moment of it. I truly appreciate all the support over the years. Thank you, everyone!”
Barcia signs with Yamaha for remainder of 2018 season
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (YMUS) have signed Justin Barcia to continue full time with the brand after Davi Millsaps announced his retirement yesterday.
Barcia signed on with Yamaha to race the early rounds of the Monster Energy Supercross season while Millsaps recovered from an off-season injury.
Justin Barcia
The 25-year-old, who is currently ranked third in the 2018 Monster Energy Supercross Championship, was signed by (YMUS) to continue racing his #51 Yamaha YZ450F for the Monster Energy/Knich/Yamaha Factory Racing team throughout the remainder of the supercross season, as well as the 2018 AMA Pro Motocross Championship, which begins in late May.
The announcement was made by Keith McCarty, Motorsports Racing Division Manager for YMUS.
Keith McCarty – Motorsports Racing Division Manager for YMUS
“We’re delighted to extend Justin’s contract through the completion of both the 2018 supercross and motocross seasons. Justin’s results aboard the all-new 2018 YZ450F have been as great as we hoped they would be. We knew when we signed him to the original six-race deal and saw how well he rode the new bike in testing, that it was the start of something special. We believe in Justin, and all of us at Yamaha are looking forward to his continued success with our factory team.”
Justin Barcia
Justin Barcia
When I first threw my leg over the 2018 factory YZ450F, I knew that I had a weapon with which to go for the championship. I’m just super happy and grateful to be with Monster Energy/Knich/Yamaha Factory Racing, and I’m glad that it’s now full-steam ahead for the rest of the supercross season, and through the motocross season as well. I get along really well with everyone on the team, and knowing that I have the best team behind me gives me a ton of confidence.”
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Speedway of Nations Launched
World Championship speedway pair’s action is back for 2018 as the Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations launches in June during the FIM Speedway Grand Prix summer break in place of the Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup.
Seven nations will compete in two Race Off events at separate locations on June 2 and June 5 respectively, with the top three countries from each joining hosts Poland in the Final at Wroclaw’s Olympic Stadium, which will be staged over two rounds on June 8 and 9.
BSI Speedway managing director Torben Olsen believes the new competition will ensure an epic title race and bring new nations on to the world speedway stage.
Torben Olsen – BSI Speedway Managing Director
“There have long been calls for a World Championship pairs tournament to return and I’m certain the new Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations will make for an awesome week of racing. It will be great to see as many as 15 nations involved in the race for the World Championship, offering more riders and fans a chance to be part of the action. With the championship riding on the last race of the week, we’re guaranteed a thrilling finale, and we can’t wait to see who comes out on top.”
Armando Castagna – FIM Track Racing Director
“I’m very excited and looking forward to this new FIM World Championship. We have been working for a long time to find the best possible format and scenario for a Speedway of Nations. I am sure that this Championship will provide a lot of surprises and suspense. We have been increasing the number of Nations entering a Team Championship, and giving the Federations the chance to nominate a young rider in each team will give a boost to the youth program in the participating countries. It will also give us all the chance to see young riders racing at a high level. I want to thank and congratulate our Promoter BSI for believing in Speedway of Nations and I’m sure that together we will organise a very special new FIM Championship.”
More information about the Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations will be released in due course.
Hook Awarded Memorial Trophy
Queensland junior speedway star Jacob Hook has been awarded the coveted Barry Hopkins Memorial Trophy for his performances throughout the 2017 Speedway season – Hooks wrote this on social media:
Jacob Hook
“To top off a sensational 2017 Speedway season I received a massive honour last night during the rider introduction. I was presented with the Barry Hopkins Memorial Trophy for Junior Speedway. I am the first rider outside of NSW to receive this and feel very humble. Thanks to David McPherson for bringing the trophy up to Queensland and I promise I won’t use the pewter mug until I’m 21.”
Koppe Makes History at Burt Munro Challenge
Townsville racer Damien Koppe earned a significant slice of motorcycle racing history when he became the first Aussie ever to win the beach races at the Burt Munro Challenge in Invercargill, New Zealand last weekend.
Damien Koppe with the Burt Monro Challenge trophy
Using a KTM450SXF with his dad Steve running the spanners, the 30-year-old former professional speedway racer clean-swept the famous beach races, winning the Pro Open, the 450 and the 50-lapper, as well as the Burt Munro 1-mile Challenge. Koppe also placed third in the hill climb, second in the drag race and won two of the speedway races he finished before a succession of flat tyres brought his progress to a halt.
Koppe’s trip home from New Zealand will take in a diversion to Brisbane for this weekend’s North Brisbane Cup at Mick Doohan Raceway.
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Gardiner & Carpentier Sign with Yamaha MX Store Ballard’s Off-Road Team
Jess Gardiner and Frenchman Jeremy Carpentier will compete for the new Yamaha MXStore Ballard’s Off-Road Team on the WR250RJ in the eleven round Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) championship, which kicks off on the second weekend of March in Gympie, Queensland.
Jess Gardiner – Image by Mastorgne Photography
After what was a stunning 2017 in Europe for Gardiner, who became the first Australian to win the Women’s Championnat de France d’enduro and the FIM European Enduro Championship, the 24-year-old returns back to her ‘old stomping ground’ where it all began in 2010. Gardiner has also won 27 AORC races in the Women’s Championship out of a total of 69 races which she has taken part in.
Jess Gardiner
“I’m really happy to be back home racing in Australia again, I’ve come back to Australia feeling a lot stronger and have a lot more riding skills. Racing overseas was a good experience, but at the end of the day you always feel better on your home ground.”
24-year-old Carpentier won the 2011 French Youth Championship and the 2014 and 2015 Junior Championnat de France d’enduro, while last year saw him finishing in third place in the E1 French enduro series racing for the Yamaha Ridercamp enduro team.
Jeremy Carpentier
Jeremy Carpentier
“I’m excited to take on the new challenges which lie ahead, I’ve heard a lot about the AORC series and by the looks of things it will be a very competitive championship to race in, which is what racing is all about. I’ve been training hard in the off season, so I don’t see why I can’t get the Yamaha MX Store Ballard’s Off-Road Team on the podium throughout the season.”
Yamaha Motor Europe Announces 2018 Motocross Line-up
Yamaha Motor Europe N.V. has confirmed the official Yamaha teams and riders slated to compete in the 2018 FIM MXGP, MX2 and WMX World Championships, as well as the 2018 EMX250 and EMX125 European Championships.
Wilvo Yamaha Official MXGP Team 2018 – Arnaud Tonus, Shaun Simpson, Jeremy Seewer
Strengthening their strategy for 2018, Yamaha Motor Europe N.V. will officially support two teams and a total of five riders inside the world’s premier class, MXGP. Spearheading the effort and set to take the YZ450FM to the top of the podium, the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team remains unchanged for a third consecutive season where they hope to toast success once again with 2015 MXGP World Champion Romain Febvre and 2014 MXGP vice World Champion Jeremy Van Horebeek.
The Wilvo Yamaha Official MXGP Team will enter their second season on YZ450Fs inside the top-tier class with a dynamic three-man team. Last year’s challengers Arnaud Tonus and Shaun Simpson remain under the ‘Wilvo’ awning and will be joined by one of MXGP’s hottest rookies, two-time MX2 vice-World Champion Jeremy Seewer.
Jeremy Seewer
In MX2, the Kemea Yamaha Official MX2 outfit has had a total reshuffle with the introduction of three new riders. Heading the line-up, the British Motocross MX2 Champion Ben Watson will be joined by blisteringly fast Russian prodigy Vsevolod Brylyakov and young Belgian mega-talent Jago Geerts. The trio will be manning YZ250F machinery.
Also armed with YZ250F technology, Yamaha Motor Europe N.V. is proud to support three teams and riders inside the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship. Leading the charge is none other than the reigning WMX World Champion FontaMX Yamaha Official WMX’s Kiara Fontanesi, and looking to dethrone her are fellow Yamaha Riders, Altherm Yamaha Official WMX’s Courtney Duncan and NoFear Yamaha Official WMX’s Nancy van de Ven.
In the European Motocross Championship, the ASTES4-TESAR Yamaha Official EMX250 Team returns with Dutchman Roan van de Moosdijk who remains on the team for a second term where he will be joined by American ace Tristan Charboneau and Italian hopeful Nicolas Lapucci. Meanwhile, in the youngest class that is only open to riders under the age of 17-years-old, the MJC Yamaha Official EMX125 Team holds onto French talent Thibault Benistant and Dutchman Rick Elzinga, who have welcomed with open arms the winner of the 2017 YZ125 bLU cRU Cup, Estonian Jörgen-Matthias Talviku.
Russia Reign Supreme On the Ice
2018 Ice Speedway Gladiators (ISG) – Shadrinsk – Team ISG podium – 1. Russia, 2. Sweden, 3. Austria – Image by good-shoot.com/reygondeau
In front of a near capacity crowd in Shadrinsk where the sun shone on spectators and on the Russian team who provided an additional faultless performance to see them retain their LUKOIL FIM Team Ice Speedway Gladiators World Championship. Having been unbeaten on Day 1 they continued to dominate the event and for the second successive year collected the gold medal without dropping a single point.
The Repsol Honda Team have announced the sad news of the passing of Ulf Karlson (Alvangen, Sweden, March 6, 1952) after a fatal illness. Ulf Karlson was the first world champion with Montesa (1980) as well as achieving fifteen victories in the top category of the competition and a total of 40 podiums. Karlson also eight times Swedish champion and triumphed in three Scandinavia championships all with Montesa.
RIP Ulf Karlson (1952-2018)
Miquel Cirera – Team Manager
“Today, all the Montesa family are in mourning. We have lost a great friend, an athlete and a great world champion. We are really sorry for the loss of Ulf Karlson, who had a long-lasting professional relationship and friendship with us for many years. We send our deepest condolences to the family and all the friends in the world of trial. Rest in peace.”
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Smarty’s Race Reports
AMA Supercross Championships – Round 6 – San Diego
At the end of dramatic night of racing, Jason Anderson and Justin Hill have won the 450 and 250 class main events at round six of the 2018 AMA Supercross Championship held in San Diego last weekend.
AMA Supercross blasts out of the gates in San Diego
450SX Main Event
While Cole Seely led the field through the first corner ahead of Anderson and Justin Barcia there was a pile-up close behind that involved Ken Roczen, Weston Peick, Malcolm Stewart, Josh Grant and Eli Tomac with Tomac pulling the plug on his night and made his way back to the pits.
Cole Seely
Seely was riding well out front but Anderson was never far away from the Honda rider and just past the halfway point Anderson pulled the trigger and made the move into the lead and despite his best efforts Anderson’s pace was just too fast for Seely who would go on to lose additional spots to Musquin and Blake Baggett.
Musquin put on a charge and started reeling in Anderson but Anderson responded and lowered his lap times to score a comfortable win over Musquin, Baggett, Seely and Brock Tickle who put in his best ride of the season in front of KTM’s head of Motorsport, Pit Beirer who was on hand at San Diego.
Tickle leads Wilson
On the other hand it wasn’t a great night for the Yamaha team with Justin Barcia running as high as third early after going by Musquin, but ended up dropping all the way back to eighth when he lost his back brakes while Cooper Webb had issues too and ended up crashing in an incident with Roczen. Webb spent significant time off the track trying to get his front end straight again, eventually finishing nineteenth.
Justin Barcia
Justin Barcia
“Dang was having a good night and got into something and lost my rear brake onto next weekend bikes awesome teams awesome ready for Dallas.”
The Webb/Roczen incident started in the right hander before the whoops where Webb run Roczen high on the berm but as they raced through the whoops Roczen was rushing up the left hand side and as he sliced inside Webb in the next left hander he appeared to grab too much throttle and loop out which resulted in Ken’s right arm going between the wheel and swingarm of Webb’s Yamaha.
Ken Roczen in action at San Diego before the sickening crash with Cooper Webb
Roczen’s jersey was ripped off his right arm and he was clutching his forearm and wrist area as he left the track on the medical mule.
As for Chad Reed, the Aussie star was definitely in better form after getting some bike time during the week and despite dropping from 5th to 13th, there is still a lot of promise for things to come for the three time champ.
Chad Reed
Chad Reed
“It’s exciting to keep getting my fitness up so I can send her in the whoops, man, this bike feels so good in the whoops.”
Jason Anderson
Jason Anderson
“I kept on hacking a particular rhythm section and these guys (Musquin and Bagget) were riding good and coming up on me but I just tried to keep consistent and got the win. Things aren’t great between Marvin and I right now (after Anderson took Musquin out in Oakland), I want to battle with Marvin and not take him down but I wanted to go forward and got ahead of myself in the heat of the moment.”
Cole Seely battling with Marvin Musquin
Marvin Musquin
“My start was pretty good, some guys were faster than me at the beginning but I tried not to panic and stayed consistent so all up I am happy, I was just a little off all day so to end the night in second is huge. (On the Oakland incident) When you are in a good position in the main event and get taken down it is disappointing, I could have taken Jason down tonight at the end of the whoops but that is not my style, maybe one day it will happen.”
Blake Baggett
Blake Baggett
“The track was gnarly in a different way to last week, you had to be on your toes because it was so slick and you were battling wheel spin all of the time so you had to be on you’re A-Game and to be honest it was carnage for a while.”
AMA Supercross 2018 – Round Six – San Diego – 450 SX Main Jason Anderson – Husqvarna Marvin Musquin – KTM Blake Baggett – KTM
450 Main Event Results
Jason Anderson (Hus)
Marvin Musquin (KTM)
Blake Baggett (KTM)
Cole Seely (Hon)
Broc Tickle (KTM)
Justin Brayton (Hon)
Weston Peick (Suz)
Justin Barcia (Yam)
Dean Wilson (Hus)
Vince Friese (Hon)
Josh Grant (Kaw)
Benny Bloss (KTM)
Chad Reed (Hus)
Tyler Bowers (Kaw)
Ben Lamay (Hon)
Adam Enticknap (Hon)
Malcolm Stewart (Suz)
Kyle Cunningham (Suz)
Cooper Webb (Yam)
Dakota Tedder (KTM)
Ken Roczen (Hon)
Eli Tomac (Kaw)
450 Points after Round 6
Jason Anderson (Hus) – 141
Justin Barcia (Yam) – 113
Cole Seely (Hon) – 106
Ken Roczen (Hon) – 102
Blake Baggett (KTM) – 99
Justin Brayton (Hon) – 99
Weston Peick (Suz) – 96
Marvin Musquin (KTM) – 96
Josh Grant (Kaw) – 83
Broc Tickle (KTM) – 82
…14. Chad Reed (Hus) – 47
250SX Main Event
With just seconds to go Alex Martin mysteriously pulled off the gate but that distraction didn’t stop Joey Savatgy from taking the holeshot with Adam Cianciarulo and Hill close behind.
Savatgy took the holeshot
Savatgy was riding with an injured hand which occurred when the Kawasaki rider crashed in practice and while stuck under his bike a well-intentioned marshal accidentally grabbed the throttle as he tried to assist Savatgy and spun the rear wheel across his hand.
Riding conservatively Savatgy lost the lead to Cianciarulo then second place to Hill who slowly closed the gap on Cianciarulo, but Cianciarulo was determined to keep just out of striking range but as the race started winding down Hill made a move stick right before the whoops to take over the lead.
Cianciarulo and Hill
Cianciarulo wasn’t done yet and over the next few corners the two riders went back and forth for the lead but Hill was eventually able to build a gap and ended up winning by just under five seconds.
Behind the leading duo Chase Sexton got by Savatgy for third and Aaron Plessinger crashed in the whoops while charging forward and the championship leader was able to salvage a credible seventh to keep the red plate going into the five week break.
Aaron Plessinger
Interestingly, Plessinger was later docked one position for cutting the track after his crash so the Yamaha rider now holds just a four point lead over Savatgy.
Hayden Mellross simply didn’t fire in the main event to end the 15 minute race in 12th place but the Aussie still sits 10th outright in the point’s standings.
Justin Hill
Justin Hill
“The battle with Adam was a lot of fun and to win those is way sweeter than just doing a wire-to-wire but all up it couldn’t have gone better, a quick qualifying time, heat win, main win, it doesn’t get any better.”
Adam Cianciarulo
Adam Cianciarulo
“I told myself that no matter how I got out of the gate I was going to send it into the first corner pretty hard because it is so frustrating being at the back so it was good to be up front early and get the start monkey off my back.”
Chase Sexton
Chase Sexton
“I didn’t get off to the best start but I was able to make a couple of passes then moved by Joey to latch on to these two (Hill and Cianciarulo) who were in a battle so I just tried to put myself in a position that if they messed each other up I could capatalise.”
The 250 West riders will now take a five week break while the East Coast riders set to do battle.
AMA Supercross 2018 – Round Six – San Diego – 250 SX Main Justin Hill- Suzuki Adam Cianciarulo – Kawasaki +4.95 Chase Sexton – Honda +8.60
250 Main Event Results
Justin Hill (Suz)
Adam Cianciarulo (Kaw)
Chase Sexton (Hon)
Joey Savatgy (Kaw)
Shane McElrath (KTM)
Christian Craig (Hon)
Kyle Chisholm (Yam)
Aaron Plessinger (Yam)
Mitchell Harrison (Hus)
Bradley Taft (Yam)
Phil Nicoletti (Suz)
Hayden Mellross (Yam)
Cole Martinez (Hus)
Dakota Alix (KTM)
Justin Starling (Hus)
Killian Auberson (KTM)
Bradley Lionnet (Kaw)
Michael Leib (Yam)
Robbie Wageman (Kaw)
Ryan Breece (Kaw)
Jean Ramos (Yam)
Alex Martin (KTM)
250 Points after Round 6
Aaron Plessinger–133
Joey Savatgy–129
Shane McElrath –117
Adam Cianciarulo–116
Chase Sexton–107
Christian Craig–106
Justin Hill–105
Kyle Chisholm–84
Mitchell Harrison–72
Hayden Mellross–67
UK Arenacross – Round 6 – Sheffield
The Sheffield crowd were treated to a battle royale at round 6 of the 2018 Power Maxed Arenacross Tour but in the end it was Cedric Soubeyras who took out the main event win over his French counterparts Thomas Ramette and Fabien Izoird.
UK Arenacross – Round 6, Sheffield – Pro Podium – 1. Soubeyras, 2. Ramette, 3. Izoird
Heading into the final round Soubeyras has a three point lead over Thomas Ramette while fellow Frenchmen Charles LeFrancois, Fabien Izoird and Cyrille Coulon round out the top five in the series and they are followed by a Portuguese in the form of Hugo Basaula and Australian Dan Reardon.
After scoring a second and a third in his heat races then a fourth in the Hot Lap competition Dan Reardon was fired up for another podium in the final but the Aussie hit the deck again and finished a disappointing 11th, two laps down on the leaders.
Pro Overall
Cedric Soubeyras, 22 points
Thomas Ramette, 21
Fabien Izoird, 17
Adam Chatfield, 15
Hugo Basaula, 14
Cyrille Coulon, 13
Charles Lefrancois, 12
Joe Clayton, 11
Adrien Escoffier, 10
Julien Lebeau, 9
Dan Reardon, 7
Pro Championship
Cedric Soubeyras, France, Team FRO Systems, 106 points
Thomas Ramette, France, SR75 World Suzuki, 103
Charles Lefrancois, France, Buildbase Honda, 83
Fabien Izoird, France, Buildbase Honda, 81
Cyrille Coulon, France, SR75 World Suzuki, 76
Hugo Basaula, Portugal, Shocktech Kawasaki, 74
Dan Reardon, Australia, I-Fly JK Yamaha, 65
Adrien Escoffier, France, MVR-D St Blazey Husqvarna, 65
Jack Brunell, Team Green Holeshot Kawasaki, 51
Ashley Greedy, Team FRO Systems, 45
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Amsoil Arenacross – Round 5
Mohegan Sun Arena in Madison, Wisconsin
After a weekend off, the 2018 AMA Arenacross season resumed with Round 5 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Madison, Wisconsin and it was Kawasaki’s Jacob Hayes who took the victory for the night.
Jacob Hayes
The first 250AX Main Event started with a huge collision in the first turn affecting multiple key riders, ultimately forcing a full gate restart. Faith was one of the riders involved in the pileup and was unable to line up for the second start of Main Event 1. Seemingly undisturbed, Hayes remained focused as he grabbed the holeshot of the restart and led all 15 laps to the checkers.
Hayes continued his dominance in the second 250AX Main Event by riding flawlessly and led the entire 15 laps to take the wire-to-wire victory. This marks the second overall victory of the 2018 season for Hayes as he takes over the 250AX Class Championship Standings. Fortunately, Faith was able to line up for the second main event and managed to take sixth, salvaging valuable points and would leave the event 13 points behind his teammate.
Jacob Hayes
Jacob Hayes
“It feels amazing, I’m just trying to keep my composure and keep trying to plug away each and every weekend. We’re feeling good, tonight was a great night for us.”
250AX
Jacob Hayes 1-1
Chris Blose 2-2 2nd
Gared Steinke 3-3 3rd
Kyle Bitterman 4-5
Heath Harrison 7-4
Kevin Moranz 9-7
Lane Staley 5-11
Jacob Williamson 10-8
Gavin Faith 15-6
Shane Sewell 6-13
Gavin Faith retains second overall in the standings
250AX Class Championship Standings
Jacob Hayes – 158
Gavin Faith – 145
Chris Blose – 144
Gared Steinke – 115
Kyle Bitterman – 97
Italian Motocross Championship – Round 2 – Sicily
Italian Motocross Championship Round 2 – Sicily – Image by S. Taglioni
Romain Febvre took a rare win from Antonio Cairoli in the MX1 class at round two of the Italian Motocross Championships held in Sicily last weekend while Cairoli bounced back to win the Supercampion class and in the MX2 class it was Max Renaux from France who won the MX2 class race.
Tony Cairoli – Image by S. Taglioni
Tony Cairoli
“I’m happy because it was a difficult race on a sketchy track. [Romain] Febvre found a way to pass me through the backmarkers in the first moto and I couldn’t get him back; it was hard to pass here. In the second moto we managed to attack the leaders after the first three or four laps and took the win; I was really happy with that and am already looking forward to next weekend.”
Round 2 Results
MX1
FEBVRE Romain (FRA)
CAIROLI Antonio (ITA)
VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy (BEL)
MONTICELLI Ivo (ITA)
LEOK Tanel (EST)
Italian Motocross Championship – Round 2 Sicily – MX2 Podium – Image by S. Taglioni
MX2
RENAUX Maxime (FRA)
CERVELLIN Michele (ITA)
BERNARDINI Samuele (ITA)
FACCHETTI Gianluca (ITA)
TROPEPE Giuseppe (ITA)
SUPERCAMPIONE
CAIROLI Antonio (ITA)
FEBVRE Romain (FRA)
LUPINO Alessandro (ITA)
MONTICELLI Ivo (ITA)
OSTLUND Alvin (SWE)
Championship Overall
MX1
CAIROLI Antonio (ITA) – 220
FEBVRE Romain (FRA) – 180
VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy (BEL) – 160
LEOK Tanel (EST) – 110
ANSTIE Max (GBR) (FRA) – 110
MX2
RENAUX Maxime (FRA) – 165
CERVELLIN Michele (ITA) – 160
LAWRENCE Hunter (AUS) – 120
BERNARDINI Samuele (ITA) – 116
OSTLUND Alvin (SWE) – 101
SUPERCAMPIONE
CAIROLI Antonio (ITA) – 240
FEBVRE Romain (FRA) – 180
LEOK Tanel (EST) – 105
ANSTIE Max (GBR) – 100
LUPINO Alessandro (ITA) – 97
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
2018 Hell’s Gate – Italy
Mario Roman has won the famed 2018 Hell’s Gate extreme enduro in Italy ahead of five-time winner Graham Jarvis and Travis Teasdale.
With an all-new format for this year, the event kicked off with a Prologue race on the Friday night. Designed to set the starting order for Saturday’s race, the Prologue was an endurocross style event held close to the hosting Il Ciocco Hotel. Although it provided a great spectacle for the fans, the race results were eventually scrapped due to issues with the course.
Hell’s Gate Extreme Enduro 2018 – Graham Jarvis
With only the first thirty finishers from Saturday’s heat race allowed to transfer to the afternoon race, Roman’s second place finish over the five-laps put him in a good positions for the start of the evenings “main event”. From there he was able to maintain positions towards the front of the field and with the final results calculated on the sum of the previous legs Roman was declared the winner
Saturday’s heat race went well for runner-up Graham Jarvis. An expert at managing his pace, the Brit did exactly what he had to do, finishing fourth aboard his Husqvarna FE 250 in the cold conditions of the Tuscan hills. The position gave him a good start for the night race, which saw riders set off at 3.30pm for a tough three-hour multi-lap event.
At the conclusion of the night race, the top-10 riders were given a 15-minute break before contesting the new 20-minute endurocross in the arena area of the venue. In freezing conditions, the riders fought bar-to-bar in front of the record-crowd of spectators to decide the overall winner.
Jarvis was announced as runner-up, just a few minutes behind eventual winner Mario Roman.
Graham Jarvis – Image: Future7Media
Graham Jarvis
“I really enjoyed the racing today, I always do here at Hell’s Gate. It’s been a tough couple of days and I’m still getting used to riding the 4-stroke, but the bike has been absolutely faultless over the entire weekend. It has been pretty close between the top-four all day and it’s all come down to the final 20-minute race off. It would have been nice to take my sixth win at the event, but I’m happy with second.”
Results – Hells Gate 2018
Mario Roman (Sherco) 3:06:03
Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 3:08:57
Travis Teasdale (Beta) 3:12:45
Diego Nicoletti (Husqvarna) 3:32:14
Sonny Goggia (KTM) 3:39:26
Michele Bosi (Beta) 3:46:15
Hawkstone Park International Motocross
Hawkstone Park, Great Britain
Red Bull KTM Factory riders Jeffrey Herlings and Pauls Jonass have dominated the MX1 and MX2 classes at a very wet and cold Hawkstone Park International last weekend.
Glenn Coldenhoff leads the field at the Hawkstone International – Image by Ray Archer
The other Dutchman and KTM factory rider Glenn Coldenhoff proved strong, and his 2-2 results were great for his confidence while Gautier Paulin was consistent and his third overall was a sign of his attitude towards 2018.
Tommy Searle showed good results with fourth overall in the MXGP class and top five in the superfinal while Evgeny Bobryshev back riding and getting a fifth place overall on his Suzuki machine.
Austria owned the MX2 class with Jonass (KTM), Thomas Kjer Olsen (Husky) and Conrad Mewse (KTM) taking the podium places in the 250 class.
Jeffrey Herlings – Image by Ray Archer
Jeffrey Herlings
“It was a really good day. We were fastest in qualification in the morning so we had the best gate pick all day. I felt good on the track and the weather was a bit gnarly; there was rain and snow! I felt strong and good on the bike and the team did a great job. The conditions have not been easy and I think the club made some excellent work to get the track as rideable as it was. We’ll have our last race before Argentina in France next weekend and I haven’t ridden there for a long time so I’m looking forward to it.”
Glenn Coldenhoff – Image by Ray Archer
Glenn Coldenhoff
“The last two weeks haven’t been the best so to be fourth in practice and then to have a good day was very positive. I love coming to Hawkstone, I always ride well here and get good results and it proved to be that way again: three holeshots and three times second place so I cannot complain. Pauls and Jeffrey won so I don’t think it could be any better and this was perfect training for the upcoming GP series.”
Pauls Jonass – Image by Ray Archer
Pauls Jonass
“I’m really happy. It was my second year at Hawkstone and there is a lot of racing in one day. It is really good training, and the track is pretty tough, especially in the Superfinal when it was getting very rough and we’re against the 450s. I took it easy in the Superfinal when the sun was low and it was tricky to see; I still think fourth place against the bigger bikes was pretty good.”
