Moto News Wrap for Feb 17, 2015 by Darren Smart
Australasian News
After three years, Monster Energy has pulled the plug on sponsoring the Australian MX Nationals but it looks like WEM has it covered by going to individual round sponsorship.
This is big, Troy Bayliss is planning on racing selected AMA Grand National Miles is 2015 starting with the Memorial Day weekend Springfield Mile, racing a Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati.
American News
Chad Reed and Taylor Potter were our lone Aussie representatives at Arlington so lets see how they went.
Chad qualified in 10th before finishing a disappointing 8th in his heat. Chad bounced back to win his Semi and was running well inside the top ten in the main event until Eli Tomac knocked the Aussie to the ground. Chad was back in 19th place by the time he got going and managed to claw his way up to way up to 11th place.
“He hooked me up pretty good,” Reed told RacerX. “He’s got a lot more to lose than me, I’m out of this championship, and I’m sure he wants to be in it. But I don’t think he’s going to be in it.”
Taylor qualified in a credible 26th place out of 56 hopefuls before finishing 15th in his heat race and a come from behind 9th in the LCQ. Potter has the speed to get to the main event, he just needs to improve his starts.
See the full Report and Results from Arlington below
The big news coming into Arlington was Vicky Golden vying for a piece of history by becoming the first woman to qualify for the night program at an AMA Supercross Championship round but the young Suzuki rider qualified back in 54th out of 56 riders with her best time being 1:01:009, more than ten seconds per lap slower than main event winner Marvin Musquin. The girls have a ways to go……..
Bugga! Hayden Mellross broke his leg while preparing for the opening round of the 2015 Monster Energy AMA East Coast 250 Supercross championship that kicked off in Dallas last weekend. Hayden posted this on social media: ‘Hey everyone Unfortunately I won’t be racing Dallas this weekend. On Tuesday this week I came up short on a triple in a rhythm section and re broke my leg again. Im hoping I can heal up quick and be back racing in a few weeks! I just want to thank all my amazing sponsors, friends and family for everything they have done and for keeping me in a positive frame of mind. Sorry guys, I’ll keep everyone posted on my return!’
A doctor has confirmed that JGR’s Justin Barcia has a crack in his pelvic bone from a practice crash a week ago. The injury does not require surgery, but Barcia will miss Dallas, just as he missed San Diego. His status will be updated as his recovery progresses. Phillip Nicoletti will substitute for the injured Barcia.
JGR’s Weston Peick was back from injury at Dallas but had a huge crash in the first corner of the main event and was unable to finish the race.
Jake Canada has retired from supercross and posted this on social media: “One of the toughest pills I’ve had to swallow in my life, but to all my sponsors, family, friends, and fans. I’m hanging up the boots!” Canada failed to make any main events in the 250 West series.
Euro News
Todd Waters and Dean Ferris were in action at the final round of the Italian Motocross Championships last weekend. The event was a mud bath and Ferris failed to score points in either race thanks to vision problems in the opening moto and a crash in the second moto while Todd put together two solid top ten rides. See full report and results below.
British 250 motocross champion Matiss Karro suffered a knee injury and will miss the start of the British Championships. No word on whether his Route77energy MVRD Honda will hire a fill-in rider.
Elliott Banks-Browne broke his tib-fib at the Glascow Arenacross.
Race Reports and Results for the Weekend of the 7th and 8th of February
- – Monster Energy Supercross Championships – Round 7 – Dallas
- – UK Arenacross Series – Round 7 – Sheffield
- – Italian Motocross Championships – Ottobiano – Round 3
- – Valence International Motocross – France
- – Hell’s Gate Hard Enduro – Italy
Monster Energy Supercross Championships – Round 7 – Arlington, Dallas
450SX Report: Dungey led the field out of the gate in the 450SX Class Main Event to earn the SupercrossLive Holeshot Award ahead of Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Davi Millsaps and Discount Tire Racing/TwoTwo Motorsports’ Josh Grant, who was quickly shuffled back.
Dungey was quick to open a lead on the field ahead of Millsaps and Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Baggett, who moved into third, while Roczen passed Baggett for third and was quickly followed by Team Honda HRC’s Trey Canard, who won the previous race.
Millsaps then came under fire from Roczen, who was able to make the pass and move into second on Lap 5. On the following lap, Millsaps crashed out of the race, allowing Canard to take over third. While Roczen initially closed on Dungey, the margin eventually grew as the laps wore on and the top three remained unchanged through to the finish.
Blake Baggett managed a solid fourth place and is looking more comfortable at the pointy end each week. Andrew Short came home in fifth ahead of Jason Anderson, Eli Tomac, Josh Grant, Broc Tickle, Cole Seely and Reed.
Dungey became the third different two-time winner this season, joining Roczen and Canard, and moved into a tie with Jean-Michel Bayle for 13th on the all-time 450SX Class wins list with 16. “Wins are important. You’re especially going to need them as we get towards the end of the season,” said Dungey. “We’re doing the best we can each week, putting ourselves in a good spot and we need to keep doing that. I got a good start tonight and was able to ride my own race.”
“I’m really excited to get another win,” stated Dungey. “It feels great to see the hard work pay off and I’m excited to increase the point lead on the championship. I’d also like to congratulate my teammate on his win. It’s always a good night when the team can sweep both races. I think it speaks a lot for our team and the bikes that we ride.”
Dungey extended his lead in the 450SX Class standings to 12 points over Roczen, while Canard sits 23 points behind.
“It was tricky out there,” Roczen told RacerX. “It went all right. You need to go off to a good start. You got to be up front, and by up front I mean holeshot. Obviously [Davi] Millsaps and [Ryan] Dungey, they were pretty much gone after two laps. It’s really hard to catch up then. I tried my best and I made one big mistake after the finish line that cost me big time. Other than that we were pretty much the same. It was hard to make up ground. Gave it my best. It was really slippery and got really rough. We just need to get holeshots.”
Trey Canard had this to say in a RacerX interview: “I was happy. I was giving it my all. You could tell both of those guys were going good today, and I didn’t feel great. I finally put in some good laps at the end, but it was too late. I just kind of struggled. I don’t know what the deal was, but I finally felt good at the end of the race. Not a bad night. The nights when you’re not feeling the best you want to try to get on the podium.”
450SX Class Results: 1. Ryan Dungey. 2. Ken Roczen. 3. Trey Canard. 4. Blake Baggett. 5. Andrew Short. 6. Jason Anderson. 7. Eli Tomac. 8. Josh Grant. 9. Broc Tickle. 10. Cole Seely. 11. Chad Reed.
450SX Class Season Standings – After Round 7 of 17: 1. Ryan Dungey – 152. 2. Ken Roczen – 140. 3. Trey Canard – 129. 4. Eli Tomac – 114. 5. Jason Anderson – 100. 6. Cole Seely – 93. 7. Blake Baggett – 86. 8. Chad Reed – 85. 9. Andrew Short – 82. 10. Justin Barcia – 71.
250 West Report: The Eastern Regional 250SX Class Main Event began with Musquin grabbing the first SupercrossLive Holeshot Award of the championship ahead of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Martin Davalos and GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle, the defending Eastern Regional champion. While Musquin opened a small gap, Bogle passed Davalos for second, with the Husqvarna rider falling to the ground shortly thereafter, allowing Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Anthony Rodriguez to take over the position.
Musquin extended his advantage over Bogle, who sat comfortably ahead of Rodriguez for third, until a crash by AG Motorsports/Gurrnaid Energy Honda’s Kyle Cunningham brought out a red flag on Lap 8 and since the 15-lap race was past its halfway point, the restart featured a staggered line-up of riders across the start straight.
When racing resumed, Musquin opened up the lead again and Bogle reasserted his control on second. The battle for third, however, intensified as Rodriguez received pressure from both Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy and his Star Racing Yamaha teammate Jeremy Martin. The riders went three wide in the whoops with Savatgy emerging from the battle with the position.
Musquin took his fifth career Main Event win, multiple seconds ahead of Bogle, while Savatgy fended off the late challenges of Martin to claim his first career podium in third.
“It feels so great to get a win tonight,” stated Musquin. “Both the team and I have been working so hard in the off-season to get where we need to be to run up front. I have had a lot of injuries in the past few seasons, particularly in the Supercross season, and I am happy to finally be completely healthy at the start of the season. Normally, I have improved as the Supercross season went one but this year, I started strong. Both Ryan (Dungey) and I led every lap of our races and I’m proud to be a part of such a strong team. I am so happy tonight and very thankful to my team for their support and great bike.”
“The night was good,” Bogle told RacerX. “Good starts, just a little bit off. Need to clean up a few things, but I fully believe I’m capable of winning. Just got to clean a few things up, do a little work and come back next weekend and try to get up there on the top step of the box.”
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Results: 1. Marvin Musquin. 2. Justin Bogle. 3. Joey Savatgy. 4. Jeremy Martin. 5. Matt Lemoine. 6. Vince Friese. 7. R.J. Hampshire. 8. Arnaud Tonus. 9. Martin Davalos. 10. Kyle Peters.
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Season Standings – After Round 1 of 9: 1. Marvin Musquin – 25. 2. Justin Bogle – 22. 3. Joey Savatgy – 20. 4. Jeremy Martin – 18. 5. Matt Lemoine – 16. 6. Vince Friese – 15. 7. R.J. Hampshire – 14. 8. Arnaud Tonus – 13. 9. Martin Davalos – 12. 10. Kyle Peters – 11.
UK Arenacross Tour – Round 7 – Sheffield
Round 7 of the Arenacross tour in Sheffield has gone off in style! A completely sold out Motorpoint Arena was tonight home to an all French podium, as LPE Kawasaki’s Florent Richier (LPE Kawasaki) took the top step, closely followed by SR75 Molson team rider, Cyrille Coulon and our new-to-the-tour rider, Mika Musquin.
Right from the off tonight there was full action and drama in every race. An incident between Travis Pitt, Mika Musquin and a track marker in the second Pro heat, saw a bit of backstage reaction to kick things off. With SR75’s Ramette taking the first and third heats, and LPE Kawasaki’s Richier #2 taking the second, it was Oakleaf Motorsports Pellegrini who came up top in the fourth heat.
The LCQ quite literally got off to a bad start as only two riders managed to get away from the start-gate. After re-setting, an incredible ride by Shocktech’s Matt Bayliss #4 (who is the only Pro rider on a 250) put him through to the Main alongside MCF St. Blazeys Adrien Lopes #15.
A rather dramatic end to the night with some first corner carnage, which saw LPE’s Richier finish victorious with SR75’s Coulan in second and SJR Kawasaki’s Musquin #85 getting on the podium on his first Arenacross ride.
Sheffield Main Event Top Ten: 1. Florent Richier. 2. Cyrille Coulon. 3. Mickael Musquin. 4. Angelo Pellegrini. 5. Loic Rombaut. 6. Thomas Ramette. 7. Matthew Bayliss. 8. Ashley Greedy. 9. Charles Lefrancois. 10. Adam Chatfield.
Championship Top Five: 1. Thomas Ramette – 134. 2. Florent Richier – 128. 3. Angelo Pellegrini – 110. 4. Cyrille Coulon – 102. 5. Adam Chatfield – 101.
Italian Motocross Championships – Ottobiano – Round 3
Antonio Cairoli sent an ominous warning leading up to the opening round of the World motocross Championships last weekend by wrapping up two more Italian Motocross Championships at the final round of the three round series in Ottobiano. Cairoli clinched the MX1 Championship with a win over Jeremy Van Horebeek and Romain Febvre and backed that up with the Elite title after a come from behind third place behind Van Horebeek and Febvre.
“I had three good races on three different and very difficult tracks, which is very good preparation for the World Championship. It starts early this year so I am not one hundred percent in shape but that’s no problem. We will be ready,” said Cairoli.
Todd Waters secured top ten results in both the MX1 and Elite races. Carding a seventh place result in MX1, the Husqvarna rider recovered solidly from a crash on the opening lap of the Elite race to work his way forward from 26th to ninth.
“It’s been an interesting day but enjoyable one,” said Waters. ”MX1 went well and I placed seventh but I wanted more from the Elite race. On lap one I was about fifth and crashed after the finish line. It dropped me to 26th but I dug deep and fought back to ninth. It felt good to pass so many guys even if I messed up getting a better result. After such a long layoff due to injury it’s been great to knock the race rust off prior to Qatar. We’ve worked on a lot of things and definitely feel like we’re further ahead and more race sharp than if we hadn’t been here racing this series.”
Falling foul to the conditions despite numerous times featuring at the sharp end of the MX1 class results, Dean Ferris endured a difficult day. Multiple crashes in both races prevented him from showing his true potential in the mud. “I rode well but it’s just been a bit of a lottery today. The conditions were really horrible. In race one I was going well but got completely filled in and lost my goggles. Race two was a bit more of the same. I ran as high as fifth but crashes cost me dear. It’s just been a difficult day all round.”
In the MX2 class Tim Gajser clinched the championship with a second place finish behind Nick Kouwenberg. Jens Getteman finished third on the day and second in the championship.
MX1 Moto: 1. Antonio Cairoli. 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek.3. Romain Febvre. 4. Tommy Searle. 5. Rui Goncalves. 6. Davide Guarneri. 7. Todd Waters. 8. Nathan Watson. 9. Kristian Whatley. 10. Ken De Dycker.
MX1 Podium: 1. Antonio Cairoli 280pts. 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek 260pts. 3. Romain Febvre 205pts.
MX2 Moto: 1. Nick Kouwenberg. 2. Tim Gajser. 3. Jens Getteman. 4. Anton Lundgren. 5. Davy Pootjes. 6. Luca Nijenhuis. 7. Simone Zecchina. 8. Freek Van Der Vlist. 9. Brian Hsu. 10. Ivo Monticelli.
MX2 Podium: 1. Tim Gajser 285. 2. Jens Getteman 180. 3. Nick Kouwenberg 154pts.
Elite Overall: 1. Jeremy Van Horebeek. 2. Romain Febvre. 3. Antonio Cairoli. 4. Tommy Searle. 5. Max Nagl. 6. Ken De Dycker. 7. Rui Goncalves. 8. Kristian Whatley. 9. Todd Waters. 10. Tim Gajser.
Elite Podium: 1. Antonio Cairoli 200pts. 2. Tommy Searle 180pts. 3. Max Nagl 180pts.
Valence International Motocross – France
Suzuki’s Clement Desalle and KTM’s Pauls Jonass have won the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively ahead of a class field at the Valence International Motocross last weekend.
“With this weather and this track the starts were super important,” said Desalle. “I got a real good start in the first heat and could lead from start-to-finish. The second race was a bit more difficult when I was in third position, but Paulin made some mistakes so I could get through, and that was basically the same with Boog, but it’s good to win here for the fourth time!”
MX2 Top Ten: 1.Jonass (LET, KTM), 1-1 ; 2.Ferrandis (Kawasaki), 2-3 ; 3.Tixier (Kawasaki), 3-4 ; 4.Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), 6-2 ; 5.Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), 4-6 ; 6.Sterry (GBR, KTM), 8-5 ; 7.Graulus (BEL, Yamaha), 7-7 ; 8.Dercourt (Kawasaki), 5-9 ; 9.Paturel (Yamaha), 10-10 ; 10.Watson (GBR, KTM), 11-11.
MX1 Top Ten:1.Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 1-1 ; 2.Boog (Kawasaki), 3-2 ; 3.Simpson (GBR, KTM), 4-3 ; 4.Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 2-5 ; 5.Paulin (Honda), 5-7 ; 6.Frossard (KTM), 9-4 ; 7.Teillet (Honda), 7-6 ; 8.Martens (BEL, Husqvarna), 8-9 ; 9.Leok (EST, Kawasaki), 12-10 ; 10.Caillat (Yamaha), 16-13.
Hell’s Gate Hard Enduro – Italy
Red Bull KTM’s Jonny Walker won one of the toughest of Hell’s Gate Hard Enduros in recent memory on Saturday, battling not only the usual hellish course conditions but also very bad weather. Riders had to battle against heavy rain and ultimately snow at the event in the Tuscan Mountains above Lucca in Italy.
Mario Roman and Lars Enoeckl made it an all-KTM podium in an event where the original field of just over one hundred was trimmed down to just 14 eligible for the final race up the dreaded Hell’s Peak.
“That’s the hardest race I’ve ever done,” Walker said in the finish area.
It was Graham Jarvis who took control of the race lead midway through the opening lap but the Husqvarna rider lost his footing while passing through deep water soon after the start of the second lap resulted in the British rider drowning his engine.
Losing up to 30 minutes having been forced to return to the paddock in order to re-start his drowned bike, he bravely battled on to stay in the race. But with the water playing havoc with his engine, Jarvis was regrettably forced to call it a day at the end of lap three.
Walker went into the lead in the afternoon/evening final towards the end of the opening lap. From then on he managed to control the race to be in front at the summit. Roman and the Austrian Enoeckl were locked in a two-way battle throughout the race but Roman took over second at the bottom of the final climb.
The race is another milestone in Walker’s exploding career. His rival and nemesis, fellow Briton Graham Jarvis has had a stranglehold on the event, having won every edition since 2011. Jonny’s win follows his recent victory at the inaugural Ales Trem Extreme Enduro in France. He was also outstanding in 2014, winning both the Red Bull Hare Scramble at the Erzbergrodeo and the Red Bull Romaniacs.
Jonny, who also races SuperEnduro, prefers the KTM 300 EXC two-stroke for extreme and the four-stroke 300 EXC for indoors. He now heads for two rounds of the FIM SuperEduro in Mexico and Brazil. He will then prepare for The Tough One Hard Enduro at home in the UK and for the Erzbergrodeo.
Hell’s Gate 2015 – Podium: 1, Jonny Walker, GBR, KTM. 2, Mario Roman, ESP, KTM. 3, Lars Enoeckl, AUT, KTM.
