Well, the opening round of the World Motocross Championships being held in Qatar this weekend is set to be a cracker with all of the top contenders confirming that they will front the line including the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team members Jeffrey Herlings (MXGP) and Pauls Jonass (MX2) after both were in doubt thanks to crashes during pre-season events.
Jeffrey Herlings
Jeffrey Herlings was injured in a crash in the final round of the Italian International Motocross Championship at Ottobiano and tests revealed that he had a fractured fourth metacarpus, one of the five bones between the wrist and the fingers.
The Dutchman had surgery in Belgium immediately after the crash and will wear a protective cast for one week but doctors have told Herlings that he should be fit to ride at the opening round of the world championship.
World Motocross Championships season launches this weekend!
Jonass suffered what doctors described as a slight concussion after a crash at the Masters Motocross International in France and was ordered to take a rest for 4-5 days so the Latvian is expected to be fit to ride in the opening round of MX2 championship.
Herlings will take on teammates Tony Cairoli and Glenn Coldenhoff during his debut MXGP season as well as a gaggle of former World Championship and Grand Prix winners in Tim Gasjer, Romain Febvre, Max Nagle, Gautier Paulin, Clement Desalle, Kevin Strijbos, Max Anstie, Shaun Simpson and Jeremy Van Horebeek.
Pauls Jonass
Jonass and Spanish teenager Jorge Prado will take on the best MX2 riders in the world including Jeremy Seewer, Benoit Paturel, Thomas Kjer Olsen, Darian Senayei as well as the Aussie trio of Hunter Lawrence, Caleb Ward and Jay Wilson.
2017 MXGP of Qatar Entry List – MXGP2017 MXGP of Qatar Entry List – MX2
AMA WMX Gets Title Sponsor
ONSIA Sound Art as the new title sponsor for the 2017 Women’s Professional Motocross Championship (WMX). ONSIA specializes in blending visual art with cutting-edge sound technology.
MXGP 2016 – Germany – WMX Start
Steve Ventre – CEO and Founder of ONSIA
“We are excited about our sponsorship of the Women’s Motocross Series and see this as a great opportunity to become involved with the motorcycle industry. There is a strong demand for quality photography from the riders, their sponsors and their fans. We can turn those images into a unique Sound Art Speaker providing Bluetooth on-demand-sound for their home, trophy room or RV. “We look forward to working with the women racing the WMX series, as well as meeting their families and sponsors as the series progresses throughout the season.”
ONSIA’s hands-on approach will provide the WMX Championship with top-notch media exposure. Race reports, social media posts and marketing materials will be re-designed to incorporate ONSIA and the brand-new series logo.
Brayton Concussed
Justin Brayton has posted an up-date on his injury on social media following a crash which left him unconscious.
‘After slamming my head into @justinbogle19 front wheel/fork in the first turn Saturday night, I decided to take a short nap on the track and regroup, haha. I’m very thankful to be ok from this crash, seems like it could’ve been a lot worse. It’s the first time I’ve ever been knocked unconscious, which was kinda scary. I felt totally fine other than a small headache just hours after the crash and waking up Sunday morning I never would’ve thought I was knocked out only twelve hours earlier. I’m going through the concussion protocol now and will keep everyone posted on when my return to racing will be. Thanks for all the positive messages.’
Dunlop Geomax MX3S
Ken Roczen surgery continues
Ken Roczen has released an update on his ongoing surgery on Instagram, with his last batch of surgery initially hoped to be the last. It’s been confirmed this won’t be the case, with progress and recovery otherwise going well.
Ken Roczen injury update – Wrist surgery complete, with more surgery required on his elbow
Ken Roczen
“Sooo thought we were going to get away with one more surgery, but that didn’t happen. We got the most difficult part done on my wrist. Now it’s time to fix up my elbow on Wednesday. Good things take time. Couldn’t ask for a better doctor.”
Raceline Pirelli KTM Squad Announced
KTM Australia has announced a three-rider line-up for the Raceline Pirelli development team with promising youngster Morgan Fogarty coming in as the MXD rider with Wade Kirkland moving to the MX2 championship alongside Western Australian hotshot Jayden Rykers.
Jayden Rykers – Image: Toastie Images
Jayden Rykers
“With my rookie year in MX2 behind me, having a strong team structure behind me and the right tools will make it a lot easier to get the results I need. Four-stroke was my choice this year – the way the tracks formed up last year, particularly in the second motos made it harder to find traction, and transitioning to the four-stroke has been quite easy because I’ve been on and off one for the last two or three years.”
Wade Kirkland
“It’s awesome. I think it’s going to be a good step, because I want to get to the big boys and the 450 class as soon as I can, while I’m still young I guess – and on account of my size. I’m 6 foot 2 now so that’s pretty big for a 250 rider!”
Chris Woods – KTM Raceline Pirelli Development Team
“It’s a pretty big change considering we’ve only been with KTM for one year, so we’re pretty excited to step up as the official Lites program, but we’re also pretty pumped to keep a finger in the pie with our MXD rider development program as well. Apart from that it’s pretty well play on, we’ll just keep doing what we did last year, but with one extra rider and a bit more prestige.”
Broc Grabham joins Husqvarna
Husqvarna Australia recently announced a new-look off-road squad entering 2017 with Broc Grabham promoted from Husqvarna’s support team ranks to its factory team on the Husqvarna FE450 in the E2 category with Lachy Stanford taking over the lead rider position in his fourth year with the Husqvarna on the FE501.
Keeping the whole show tied together, former motocross pro Christian Horwood will step up from the Head Technician role he’s held for the last three years, to the Team Management role left vacant by Glenn Kearney.
Christian Horwood and Lachy Stanford
Christian Horwood
“I’m honoured for Jeff and Rob to give me this opportunity. I’ve had three great years working alongside Glenn, and being the professional he is, he’s been a really good mentor. I’ve learned a lot about the way he runs things and as he’s right next door now it’s made the transition a lot easier.”
Lachy Stanford
“Definitely happy to be a part of the Husqvarna Enduro Team this year, it’s great to work with Christian again – he and I have worked together since the beginning. He’s going to step up into the role of managing this year so it will be good. With the AORC and the Four-Day this year I’m definitely going in hard and we’ll definitely be in with a fighting chance. I’ve stepped up the training looking for any kind of cross-training advantage. Every day is just flat out doing something new. I never thought for a moment about changing from the 501. I really love being on that bike and it suits me so there was no question about it.”
Broc Grabham
“There are no words to describe how excited I am to be in the factory team – growing up I’ve watched all my brothers do it at some point or another, so it’s good to have done enough to get that sort of support. I started doing a bit more last year and the results in competition came. Top-three at Monkerai gave me a lot of confidence – running with all those guys who are paid to do it was awesome!”
AORC Supp Regs Released
Motorcycling Australia (MA) have announced that the Supplementary Regulations have been released and entries are now officially open for Round 1 & 2 of the 2017 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC).
2016 AORC – Daniel Chucky Sanders
The release of the Supp Regs and the official opening of entries, is just about the final piece to the 2017 AORC puzzle of the rounds 1 & 2 that will be run in a ‘double Enduro format’, at Bandan Gove, Dungog. All riders will need to comply as per the GCRs for an Enduro (i.e. working tail light, brake light, side stand, mirror).
Further to the Supp Regs, EJ 19 and under class do not require a road licence and do not require full bike registration as they will be riding on private property. EJ 19 and under class will be riding the Junior Enduro loop, and will still do a full enduro with time card as per the GCRs.
Please note that there will be unregistered vehicle permits available for Seniors who have an unregistered bike or Victorian Recreational Registered bikes.
Please be advised that entries for Round 1 & 2 close on Sunday the 2nd April 2017. The Final rounds have now been finalised and will run in Omeo, VIC, the full calendar can be found below.
2016 AORC – Lyndon Snodgrass
2017 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship Calendar
Round 1 & 2: Dungog, NSW 8 – 9 April 2017
Round 3 & 4: Rawson, VIC 22 – 23 April 2017
Round 5 & 6: Miva, QLD 13 – 14 May 2017
Round 7 & 8: Renmark, SA 24 – 25 June 2017
Round 9 & 10: Kyogle, NSW 22 – 23 July 2017
Round 11 & 12: Omeo, VIC 5 – 6 August 2017
To stay up-to-date with all the news and information from the series, visit the 2017 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship section of the MA website and on the AORC Facebook page or follow @aorc_ on Instagram.
Dunlop Geomax MX3S
Smarty’s Race Reports:
AMA Supercross – Rd 7 – U.S. Bank Stadium – Minneapolis, Minnesota
50,721 fan packed into U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to watch riders battle a one-lined, ill thought out track but when the night of less than stellar racing was completed it was Eli Tomac who won the ho-hum 450SX main event while Joey Savatgy took the win in the first of the East Coast 250SX main events.
2017 AMA SX – Round 6 Minneapolis
450SX Main Event:
With Cooper Webb and Justin Bogle crashing out of the meeting earlier in the day, Cole Seely edged out Josh Grant for his first holeshot of the season and as riders jockeyed for position through the opening sequence of tight, twisting turns and jumps Davi Millsaps emerged from the fray in second, followed closely by Tomac and Ryan Dungey as Chad Reed pulled himself free of a track barrier in the first corner.
2017 AMA SX – Round 6 Minneapolis – Cole Seely
Seely then crashed out of the lead prior to the completion of the opening lap, handing the top spot over to Millsaps who used the one-lined layout to hold Tomac at bay but at the start of lap three Tomac and Dungey moved by Millsaps while last weekend’s winner in Marvin Musquin made his way into fifth place.
Dungey kept pace with Tomac and the lead duo’s early pace allowed them to open a comfortable gap over the rest of the field. Tomac’s ability to get through the lappers allowed him to extend his lead over Dungey, who started to lose ground to Musquin and as the race wore on the KTM duo inched closer and closer together until a mistake by Dungey forced him off the track briefly and allowed Musquin to mount a challenge and on lap 18 Musquin passed Dungey for second.
2017 AMA SX – Round 6 Minneapolis – Cole Seely
Tomac continued to log consistent laps through the remainder of the race and took the win well ahead of Musquin for his seventh career win, lapping all the way up to seventh place in the 22-rider field. Dungey rounded out the overall podium in third well ahead of Jason Anderson, Seely, Millsaps, Broc Tickle, Trey Canard, Blake Baggett and Mike Alessi.
Eli Tomac
“That was a really tough race tonight. The track had a lot of crazy lines and was really tough. I felt like we did a lot of laps. I’m glad to get back on our feet after last week [finishing 15th] and get back to where we were the weeks before that. This was the toughest race of the season so far.”
Marvin Musquin – to RacerX
“Main event I was able to make some good passes at the beginning and then I was third. They had a good gap on me and I was trying to put on a charge, and for three laps they were actually a little quicker than me. I was like, actually tonight it’s going to be a third place. It’s going to be tough to catch those guys. But after that obviously Ryan made a mistake and the lappers… The track was actually pretty short once again, just like last weekend in Dallas, and we had a lot of lappers. The sand section was really difficult but I was able to go through it pretty clean and put on the charge on Ryan. To get a second place tonight is pretty wholesome. I’m really happy.”
Dungey’s third-place finish allowed him to maintain his control of the championship standings.
Ryan Dungey
“We were pushing it, Eli was going good. We were right there, but then I [had a slight miscue] and he took off. I made some [more] mistakes and Marvin was there to capitalize. It was a tough night, but we made the most of it and got on the podium.”
2017 AMA SX – Round 6 Minneapolis – Jason Anderson – Image: Simon Cudby
Chad Reed was moving through the field from a last placed start and just as he was about to move toward a top ten finish the Aussie hit the deck and ended the race in 16th place.
Dungey lost ground to Musquin in the 450SX Class standings and now holds a 16-point lead over his teammate. Tomac moved from fourth to third, 24 points behind Dungey.
2017 AMA SX – Round 6 Minneapolis – Cole Seely
450SX Class Results:
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki
Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna
Cole Seely, Sherman Oaks, Calif., Honda
Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., KTM
Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki
Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., KTM
Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM
Mike Alessi, Hilliard, Fla., Honda
450SX Class Championship Standings:
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM – 149
Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM – 133
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 125
Cole Seely, Sherman Oaks, Calif., Honda – 123
Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna – 103
Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., KTM – 98
Dean Wilson, Clermont, Fla., Husqvarna – 73
Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 71
Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha – 69
Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki – 69
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Main Event
In the first Eastern Regional 250SX Class Main Event of the season, Jordon Smith pulled the holeshot ahead of Savatgy and Colt Nichols. Smith was able to pull away on the opening lap after Nichols and KTM privateer Dakota Alix came together in mid-air while battling for second, crashing in front of the field.
2017 AMA SX – Round 6 Minneapolis – Zach Osborne – Image: Simon Cudby
That moved Savatgy into second ahead of Anthony Rodriguez, R.J. Hampshire and Zach Osborne but as the opening laps continued, Smith and Savatgy asserted themselves out front, while Rodriguez dropped two positions to both Hampshire and Osborne.
Osborne was the fastest rider on the track and moved into podium position on lap five just as Savatgy closed in on Smith and the two began to battle for the lead as they approached lapped riders. As Savatgy passed Smith for the lead and the two front runners continued to battle, Osborne continued to close the deficit in third and soon all three were separated by less than a second.
2017 AMA SX – Round 6 Minneapolis – Zach Osborne – Image: Simon Cudby
On the one-lined track, lapped riders continued to play a role, helping Savatgy maintain his lead while also allowing Osborne to slip past Smith for second on Lap 10. Just a few laps later Osborne tipped over in the track’s sand section and gave up the spot to Smith, remounting in third.
The lead trio still was separated by less than two seconds on the final lap, with Savatgy taking his fourth career win, and his second in a row dating back to last season.
Joey Savatgy
“I was able to start closing in on Jordon [Smith], and would have liked to make the pass [clean] to keep my flow going. But, we made pass and make it work from there. It wasn’t a pretty Main Event by any means, so we still have work to do. It’s good to start the season like this. I didn’t ride my best, but we still got the win.”
Savatgy took early control of the Eastern Regional standings and holds a three-point lead over Smith. Osborne is five points back in third.
The 2017 Monster Energy Supercross season continues next Saturday, February 25, with the eighth round from Atlanta’s Georgia Dome. The championship’s final visit to the famed venue will signify the inaugural MotoFest, featuring the first-ever doubleheader alongside AMSOIL Arenacross.
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Results:
Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki
Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., KTM
Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna
RJ Hampshire, Brooksville, Fla., Honda
Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki
Dylan Ferrandis, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Yamaha
Anthony Rodriguez, Cairo, Ga., Yamaha
Luke Renzland, Hewitt, N.J., Yamaha
Kyle Peters, Greensboro, N.C., Suzuki
Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha
2017 AMA SX – Round 6 Minneapolis – Zach Osborne – Image: Simon Cudby
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship Standings:
Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki – 25
Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., KTM – 22
Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna – 20
RJ Hampshire, Brooksville, Fla., Honda – 18
Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki – 16
Dylan Ferrandis, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Yamaha – 15
Anthony Rodriguez, Cairo, Ga., Yamaha – 14
Luke Renzland, Hewitt, N.J., Yamaha – 13
Kyle Peters, Greensboro, N.C., Suzuki – 12
Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha – 11
UK Arenacross Tour – Rd 7 – The SSE Arena, Wembley
Adrien Escoffier and Chris Bayliss have won the Pro and Pro-Lites main events respectively at the final round of the 2017 UK Arenacross Tour held at the Wembley Arena last weekend but it was Thomas Ramette and Yannis Irsuti who took out the two main championships.
The Pro race threw up plenty of surprises with Adrien Escoffier enjoying his second win of the season and delighting his team with a perfect end to a season that has had its ups and downs.
Mark Chamberlain – Team Boss
“I’m so chuffed for Adrien and the team. It’s a great result and makes up for our early season difficulties. As a team, it’s encouraging for us to run at the front and gives us the belief that anything is possible.”
2017 UK Arenacross Championship standings – Thomas Ramette Champion
Ramette rode hard to finish second on the night to wrap up the championship without actually winning a round while Cedric Soubeyras recovered from an early race ‘off’ to finish ninth, whilst team-mate Angelo Pellegrini took fourth and secured second overall in the championship.
Bayliss Jason put in his best ride of the series to win the Pro-Lites overall ahead of Jason Meara and Yannis Irsuti who went from a little known support rider to the championship winner.
Adam Chatfield #407, Buildbase Honda Racing, 28 points
Alex Snow #31, Keystone Honda, 26 points
Hugo Basaula #747, Team Green Kawasaki, 24 points
Jack Brunell #155, Team Green Kawasaki, 22 points
Cedric Soubeyras #85, RFX St Blazey, 20 points
Florence Richier #2, Keystone Honda, 18 points
Pro Championship:
Thomas Ramette (FR), 131 points
Angelo Pellegrini (IT), 126 points
Cedric Soubeyras (FR), 124 points
Adam Chatfield (UK), 116 points
Adrien Escoffier (FR), 113 points
Jack Brunell (UK), 109 points
Cyrille Coulon (FR), 96 points
Hugo Basaula (PT), 89 points
Florent Richier (FR), 87 points
Matt Bayliss (UK), 54 points
Pro Lites Overall:
Chris Bayliss #259, Buildbase Honda, 36 points
Jason Meara #10, RFX St Blazey, 34 points
Yannis Irsuti #170, I-Fly JK Yamaha, 33 points
Joe Clayton #14, Keystone Honda, 31 points
Dylan Woodcock, #60, Team Green Kawasaki, 31 points
Pro Lites Championship:
Yannis Irsuti #170, 245 points
Dylan Woodcock #60, 233 points
Joe Clayton #14, 222 points
Jason Meara#10, 208 points
Chris Bayliss #259, 207 points
Dunlop Geomax MX3S
AMSOIL Arenacross Championship – Rd 6 – Kansas City, MO
AMSOIL Arenacross returned to action on Saturday night inside the Sprint Center for the sixth round of the championship and it was championship leader Jace Owen who got the overall ahead of arch rival Gavin Faith while Heath Harrison won the opening round of the Western Regional AX Lites Class.
250AX Class Main Events:
In the first 250AX Class Main Event it was Faith who grabbed the holeshot over Ben Lamay and Owen but by the completion of the opening lap both Owen and Chris Blose had moved past Lamay, into second and third, respectively. Both Owen and Blose kept Faith in their sights throughout the early stages of the race, but then began a battle for second, which allowed Faith to open a slight gap. Blose moved past Owen into second on Lap 8, but faced a deficit of over two seconds to Faith who went on to take the win over Blose, Owen, Matt Goerke and Gared Steinke.
2017 Amsoil Arenacross – Rnd6 – Gavin Faith
When the second Main Event got underway it was Faith who narrowly edged out Owen for the holeshot but it wasn’t long before it was a four way battle between Faith, Owen, Goerke and Blose with Goerke taking the lead ahead Blose, Faith and Owen until the red flag waved for a downed rider on Lap 12, immediately bringing the race to a stop and forcing a restart.
The field lined up in single file to contest the closing laps and when the green flag waved it was Owen who passed both Faith and Blose to move into second and the order remained the same for final three laps with Goerke taking his first win of the season over Owen, Faith, Steinke and Daniel Herrlein with Blose crossing the line in seventh.
2017 Amsoil Arenacross – Rnd6 – Gared Steinke
When the overall results were tallied, Owen, thanks to his added bonus point from the Head 2 Head Challenge, and Faith sat tied atop the charts for first. However, by virtue of his better finish in the second Main Event Owen (3-2) earned the tiebreaker and, in turn, the overall win. Faith dropped to second (1-3), with Goerke rounding out the overall podium in third (4-1). Steinke finished fourth (5-4), while Blose was fifth (2-7).
With a tie in points collected for the night, Owen and Faith remain separated by 17 points in the 250AX Class standings. Goerke solidified his hold on third, now sitting 26 points out of the lead.
2017 Amsoil Arenacross – Rnd6 – Gavin Faith
250AX Class Overall Results (Main Event Results):
Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (3-2)
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (1-3)
Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Yamaha (4-1)
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki (5-4)
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Yamaha (2-7)
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM (7-5)
Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (6-8)
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., Kawasaki (12-6)
Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki (10-9)
Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM (9-10)
RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge Results (Bonus Points):
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki – 205 (5 Main Event Wins)
Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Yamaha – 196 (1 Main Event Win)
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki – 170
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Yamaha – 159
Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda – 151 (1 Main Event Win)
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM – 141
Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM – 102
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki – 89
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., Kawasaki – 82
Western Regional AX Lites Class Main Event
The first Western Regional AX Lites Class Main Event of the season saw Dylan Bolinger capture the holeshot over Harrison and Brandon Gourley but the experienced Harrison applied pressure on Bolinger for the lead immediately and successfully made his way around the Yamaha rider on lap four.
Once out front, Harrison was able to pull away, but the battle for the podium continued between Bolinger and Ryan Breece with Breece fighting his way into second at the half way mark but Harrison held a comfortable lead of more than four seconds and carried it through to the finish for his win of the season. A hard-charging Breece did well to close the deficit to under three seconds at the end but ultimately settled for second. Bolinger held on to finish third.
With Harrison ineligible to score points in the Western series, the runner-up finish put Breece atop the Western Regional standings after one round. He holds a one-point lead over Bolinger, while Jared Lesher, who finished fourth in the Main Event, sits third, two points out of the lead.
AMSOIL Arenacross’ next round of the championship will be a historic one, taking place inside the hallowed grounds of Atlanta’s Georgia Dome for the inaugural MotoFest where the championships hosts a doubleheader weekend alongside Monster Energy AMA Supercross commencing on Friday, February 24.
Western Regional AX Lites Class Results:
Heath Harrison, Silverhill, Ala., Yamaha
Ryan Breece, Athol, Idaho, Kawasaki
Dylan Bolinger, Corona, Calif., Yamaha
Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM
Jeremy Taylor, Canton, Ohio, KTM
Hunter Sayles, Merrill, Wis., KTM
Max Markolf, Winchester, Calif., KTM
Lane Shaw, Alvin, Texas, Honda
Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ind., Kawasaki
Cade Autenrieth, Hemet, Calif., Yamaha
Western Regional AX Lites Class Championship Standings:
Cody Cooper and Josiah Natzke have won the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively at round two of the New Zealand Motocross Championships held on the muddy slopes of Rotorua last Sunday.
Cooper once again showed his class in tough conditions to go 2-2-1 over the three motos to beat his closest rival Dean Ferris who went 1-5-3 to end the day in second place but more importantly just 13 points back from Cooper with two round remaining in the series.
Todd Waters put in a solid weekend for third outright and now sits third in the series, 24 points back from Cooper.
Todd Waters
“I was happy to get on the box on such a muddy race day because normally it can turn pretty pear shaped very quickly. Happy to get some points towards the championship and just focus on these next two rounds and hopefully bring home a good position. I need to take my hat off to Cannon Smith, Volkswagen, Honda NZ and Australia, Jay Foreman, Alpinestars, Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort and Berry Sweet Strawberry Farm, without them I wouldn’t be able to have such solid pre-season testing and racing in New Zealand.”
Luke Styke won his first national race on New Zealand sol in Rotorua and is looking sharper at every outing as he recovers from injury.
Luke Styke
“The last one put a downer on things, but overall the day was much better than the last two visits over here. We’re getting better slowly as we get the seat time. I only just missed the podium with 3-1-7 moto results. It would have been good to be up in that last one, but I just had nothing left, I had a cramp and was just battling. But my starts were better, and the changes we made to the bike were all for the positive, but the track was gnarly. I’ve had a year and half away from racing so coming back into this is tough. If you get out of your rhythm or flow you just suck. We’ve got some work to do, but we’ve got time to build and we definitely took a big step in the right direction here so, I’m looking forward to the hustle.”
In his only appearance in the series before he heads back to Europe, Natzke only just got the win in the MX2 class over championship leader Hamish Harwood with Harwood extending his championship lead to 20 points ahead of his closest rival Dylan Walsh while the 125cc Championship has the top two championship contenders in Hayden Smith and Kurtis Lilly are locked on 141 points with two rounds remaining.
MX1 Round Results:
Cody Cooper – 69 Pts
Dean Ferris – 61 Pts
Todd Waters – 60 Pts
Luke Styke – 59 Pts
Kade Mosig – 48 Pts
Rhys Carter – 46 Pts
Kayne Lamont – 41 Pts
Brad Groombridge – 41 Pts
Jesse Dobson – 37 Pts
Kieran Scheele – 34 Pts
MX1 Championship Standings After Round 2 of 4:
Cody Cooper – 139 Pts
Dean Ferris – 126 Pts
Todd Waters – 115 Pts
Rhys Carter – 108 Pts
Luke Styke – 105 Pts
Jesse Dobson – 83 Pts
Kayne Lamont – 80 Pts
Brad Groombridge – 79 Pts
Kieran Scheele – 69 Pts
Hamish Harwood – 62 Pts
Hamish Harwood leads the NZ MX2 Championship standings after Rnd 2
MX2 Round Results:
Josiah Natzke – 69 Pts
Hamish Harwood – 67 Pts
Dylan Walsh – 58 Pts
Ethan Martens – 52 Pts
Kaleb Barham – 47 Pts
Logan Blackburn – 45 Pts
Benjamin Broad – 40 Pts
Trent Collins – 37 Pts
Josh Tredinnick – 32 Pts
Sam Greenslade – 31 Pts
MX2 Championship Standings After Round 2 of 4:
Hamish Harwood – 142 Pts
Dylan Walsh – 122 Pts
Ethan Martens – 106 Pts
Kaleb Barham – 97 Pts
Logan Blackburn – 89 Pts
Hadleigh Knight – 73 Pts
Trent Collins – 72 Pts
Josiah Natzke – 69 Pts
Josh Tredinnick – 58 Pts
Benjamin Broad – 53 Pts
125cc Round Results:
Kurtis Lilly – 72 Pts
Hayden Smith – 69 Pts
Riley Campbell – 50 Pts
Hayden Wilkinson – 45 Pts
Jordan Milsom – 45 Pts
Ryan Gwynn – 40 Pts
Jacob Hicks – 34 Pts
Jacob Beal – 34 Pts
Dave Hay – 34 Pts
Dan Bell – 33 Pts
125cc Championship Standings After Round 2 of 4:
Hayden Smith – 141 Pts
Kurtis Lilly – 141 Pts
Hayden Wilkinson – 100 Pts
Jordan Milsom – 90 Pts
Dan Bell – 87 Pts
Ryan Gwynn – 85 Pts
Riley Campbell – 76 Pts
Dave Hay – 66 Pts
Joel Natzke – 52 Pts
Hamish Macdonald – 48 Pts
Hell’s Gate – Tuscany – Italy
Graham Jarvis has cemented his place in the Hell’s Gate record books by claiming a fifth win by more than four minutes in the gruelling three hour race held in Tuscan last weekend.
Hell’s Gate 2017 – Graham Jarvis leads the pack – Image: Future7Media
Jarvis showed that he meant business by taking an early lead only to be passed by Wade Young who set the early pace but when Wade suffered a small technical issue Graham hit the front and never looked back.
Hell’s Gate 2017 – Graham Jarvis – Image: Future7Media
Leading at the two-hour mark from Travis Teasdale, Graham steadily extended his lead as darkness fell. Maintaining his impressive pace during the final hour of the race Jarvis earned a well-deserved fifth Hell’s Gate victory, topping the podium ahead of Teasdale and Young.
Hell’s Gate 2017 – Graham Jarvis – Image: Future7Media
Graham Jarvis
“It’s been a great event for me. Winning the morning qualifying race was a bit of a surprise. I just made sure I didn’t make any mistakes and that was good enough to get the win. In the main race I got a good start but dropped behind Wade Young, who was running a really strong pace. He had some kind of a problem then, which allowed me to get ahead. I just kept a steady pace going then and things worked out great. There was a lot more man-made sections this year, which isn’t really my things. But to get a fifth Hell’s Gate win is great.”
Hell’s Gate 2017 – Graham Jarvis – Image: Future7Media
Riding and reviewing motorcycles for some time now, Kris writes for MCNews from time to time while also being an awesome all-rounder helping to keep the site content flowing.
Broc Grabham
